Second and rising? Cologne emerge as promotion contenders

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It's tight at the top! After 16 matchdays, the entire top half of the Bundesliga 2 table is separated by just three points. This has created a surreal state of play in which Darmstadt, currently in ninth, could overtake leaders Elversberg, with a win in the final game of the first half of the season!

In this context, the league leaders from Saarland are no more of a surprise packet than Hamburg back in eighth place. What is surprising, however, is that Cologne are in second place after 16 rounds, and in a promotion spot for the first time since their relegation from the top flight at the end of last season. Just a coincidence? No, there is much more to the story of Cologne's resurgence.

By beating Nuremberg 3-1 in the clash between two of the Bundesliga's founding clubs, Cologne stretched their unbeaten run to six matches - five of which they have won. And coach Gerhard Struber is promising more of the same: "We're not going to sit back just because we're on a winning streak."

After a mixed start to the season, which featured successive defeats in October (5-1 in Darmstadt, 2-1 at home to Paderborn), the Austrian coach made a tactical change in November. The back four switched to a back three, which becomes a back five when the opponents have the ball. The result? Cologne won their next three games 1-0. Not in style, but they stayed solid and duly picked up points.

Up front, the Rhinelanders may have offered less of a spectacle, but then one striker in particular ignited the next stage of development: Tim Lemperle. With four goals in his last five games, he already boasts eight goals and four assists for the season. The Frankfurt native is developing into one of the top strikers in Bundesliga 2 after returning on loan from Fürth.

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However, against Nuremberg, Struber's team proved that they have more to offer up front than 'just' their top scorer. While Lemperle was forced to watch on with a muscular issue, outstanding USA U23 international Damion Downs stepped into breach - and the spotlight. Struber's 'rough diamond' scored the first goal, won the penalty for Florian Kainz to make it 2-0 and set up Denis Huseinbašić to make it 3-0 at half-time. After the break, former Cologne player Jens Castrop hit what turned out to be a mere consolation for the Franconians.

"It feels really good to be up among the top places again," beamed Kainz after the game. "Now we want to end the year with a win in Kaiserslautern on Sunday."