Alonso restates trust in Boniface as he marks his 50th appearance for Leverkusen with a goal against Cologne

Super Eagles forward Victor Boniface marked his 50th appearance for Leverkusen, with whom he enjoyed league and cup success last season, and was named the Bundesliga's Rookie of the Year by scoring the winning goal in the 3-2 defeat of FC Cologne in the German Cup.

"I always have trust [in him]," Bayer head coach Alonso said in his post-match press conference. "It was an important moment for him after his injury. The [transfer] situation last week was a bit strange and unpleasant, and it was important that he felt important again and felt the love of the fans. That's important for the mind."

Patrik Schick and Boniface sent the defending champion into the semifinals with a 3-2 victory over second-division Cologne on Wednesday.

Schick scored in the sixth minute of stoppage time to send the game to extra time, and Boniface scored the winner with a volley to Álex Grimaldo´s cross in the eighth minute of extra time.

Cologne´s Imad Rondi´c thought he´d made it 3-3 after that but his goal was ruled out after a VAR check for offside. Referee Frank Willenborg became the first to announce the decision to the stadium in a German Cup game.

The game was halted almost as soon as it started because clouds of smoke from pyrotechnics in the visiting fans´ block affected visibility on the field. Players stayed warm by kicking footballs around for around 10 minutes while the smoke cleared.

Damion Downs shocked the home support by scoring against the run of play in first-half stoppage time - the 10 minutes that were added for the earlier delay - when the American youth international fired inside the left post.

Florian Wirtz went close after the break after Marvin Schwäbe saved Jeremie Frimpong´s effort, then Linton Maina showed how it´s done on a counterattack in the 54th when he sprinted down the right before cutting inside Nordi Mukiele and firing inside the far post.

Wirtz showed his class to control the ball on the sideline before he set up Schick to score in the 61st.

Alonso sent on Boniface for a midfielder with 15 minutes´ normal time remaining. Schick and Boniface usually alternate, but Alonso needed both to get the goal his team needed to stay in the competition.

In the end, it was Schick who kept Leverkusen in it when he headed Frimpong´s cross inside the left post. Boniface did the rest.