test2wa

Bundesliga

Hertha Berlin coach Friedhelm Funkel was at a loss to explain how his side came away with nothing from their match against Cologne.

There had been hopes in the capital of a revival after Thursday's Europa League win in Heerenveen, but it proved to be a false dawn as they slipped to a 1-0 defeat at the Olympic Stadium.

According to Funkel, his side showed more confidence than they had done all season, yet they are still waiting for their second league victory with the last one having come on August 8.

He said: "We were the better team. We wanted to latch onto Thursday but we haven't managed it, which is bitter for us.

"That was a very unfortunate defeat which, in my eyes, we did not deserve.

"For it to end 0-1 is extremely bitter. I cannot criticise the team in any way."

His Cologne counterpart Zvonimir Soldo admitted his side had not been at their best, but stopped short of suggesting his side had not deserved the points.

He said: "Should I apologise that we have won? It was a typical game between two teams who are at the bottom.

"We did not convince, but we fought over the 90 minutes and that was the most important thing for me because we lacked this passion during our home defeat by Hannover recently."

The win lifted Cologne up to 13th in the table for the duration of the international break while Hertha, who still have just four points, know that they are now going to be inside the bottom three until at least December.