The second Rhein Derby of the season proved to be a back and forth affair as Borussia Mönchengladbach played out a 3-3 draw with 1.FC Köln.
The first half was an even afair with both teams having their share of the ball and chances. Köln opened the scoring when Faride Alidou’s shot from a tight angle deflected in off of Gladbach goalkeeper Moritz Nicolas. Gladbach would slowly grow into the game and were rewarded for their efforts when they won the ball back in Köln’s half to then play through Franck Honorat who levelled the scoring.
The second half proved to be more chaotic, Alidou would once again with Köln the lead when he headed in from a corner. However, Köln’s lead would not last for long when substitute Robin Hack equalised just after being introduced into the game. Hack would then give Gladbach the lead only two minutes after his first goal. Then Köln would equalise when substitute Damion Downs scored his first goal for the club.
The nature of the game meant there was not real stand out player for either side. Alidou apart from his double was not really impactful away from his goals, whilst Hack was able to influence the game with an injection of energy when he was brought on and even had the chance to win the game right at the end. If this influence was seen from the start then things could have been different.
Köln are now seven points from safety and face another difficult test next weekend as they host RB Leipzig. Gladbach on the other hand can now look ahead to their rearranged DFB-Pokal tie against 1.FC Saarbrücken on Tuesday. A win will set up a semi-final game against Kaiserslautern
Borussia Mönchengladbach XI:
Moritz Nicolas (5), Joe Scally (5), Nico Elvedi (5), Maximilian Wöber (5), Luca Netz (5), Manu Koné (5), Julian Weigl (5), Florian Neuhaus (6), Franck Honorat (5), Jordan (), Nathan Ngoumou (5)
Others: Lainer (6), Reitz (5), Hack (7), Itakura (6)
1.FC Köln XI:
Marvin Schwäbe (5), Rasmus Carstensen (5), Timo Hübers (5), Julian Chabot (5), Max Finkgrafe (5), Eric Martel (5), Denis Huseinbasic (6), Faride Alidou (7), Florian Kainz (6), Linton Maina (5), Sargis Adamyan (5)
Others: Paqarada (5), Davie Selke (5), Damion Downs (5), Stefan Tigges (-)
GGFN | Jack Meenan
