Darmstadt and Cologne played out an uninspiring goalless draw in the Bundesliga as Dirk Schuster had to settle for a share of the spoils against the club he used to play for.

Former Cologne defender Schuster, who restored Darmstadt to the top flight last season, has seen his side settle well among the elite and Friday's battling performance moved them five points clear of the bottom three in 12th place. 

The visitors would have gone joint fifth with a win, but sit eighth.