Cologne's draw helps in relegation fight

FRANKFURT (AP) -Cologne earned a valuable point in the fight against relegation with a scoreless draw against Bochum in the Bundesliga on Friday.

The guests from Cologne had the better chances in the contest but could not take advantage of a strong defense, which has not allowed a goal in the last five road matches.

Milivoje Novakovic had a golden opportunity to give Cologne the victory but was just centimeters (inches) wide right with six minutes left. But the attack has been Cologne's problem, scoring just twice.

Cologne improved to 13th place with 13 points from 14 matches, a point from the relegation zone.

Bochum was unable to build upon its win at Hamburg last week, though it jumped one spot to 16th place with 12 points.