1. FC Köln and Borussia Mönchengladbach played out a tireless Derby at Borussia-Park on Saturday afternoon. FC went ahead twice through Faride Alidou, yet Gladbach could draw level through Franck Honorat and then Robin Hack. The latter scored a second, yet Damion Downs responded almost immediately in a breathless game of football.
Team news
Gerardo Seoane made two changes after the draw against Mainz last time out. Luca Netz and Joe Scally replaced Maximilian Wöber and Stefan Lainer in the line-up.
Timo Schultz made two changes to the FC side that were beaten 2:0 by Bayer Leverkusen last weekend. Denis Huseinbasic and Florian Kainz started in place of the suspended duo of Dejan Ljubicic and Jan Thielmann.
Level at the break
FC went ahead early on. Sargis Adamyan controlled the ball well and was able to find Florian Kainz, who spread the ball on to Faride Alidou on the right. His shot went through Nicolas Moritz on the angle and he wheeled away in celebration.
That lead lasted until the 32nd minute. Florian Neuhaus picked off a pass in the FC half and found Franck Honorat marching through. His shot squirmed into the back of the net, through Marvin Schwäbe’s legs.
Downs levels after Hack brace
The second-half was an end-to-end affair from start to finish. Initially, it was FC who went ahead. Florian Kainz’s free-kick to the back post was nodded in by Alidou, as the pair combined to restore FC’s advantage.
That joy would last just seven minutes, however. A brace in the space of two minutes from Robin Hack meant that Timo Schultz’s side went from delight to despair. FC were looking for an equaliser and got it through Damion Downs.
The young American picked out the bottom corner from 14 yards after Denis Huseinbasic’s clever pass before speeding towards the away end. A breathless derby ended in a 3:3 draw.
FC are next in action on Friday, 15th March at 20:30 CET against Leipzig. The game at the RheinEnergieSTADION is the final fixture before the international break.
Line-ups
Borussia Mönchengladbach (4-3-3): Nicolas – Scally, Elvedi, Wöber (Itakura 72‘), Netz (Lainer 62‘) – Koné (Reitz 70‘), Weigl, Neuhaus – Honorat, Jordan, Ngoumou (Hack 70‘).
1. FC Köln (4-2-3-1): Schwäbe – Carstensen, Hübers, Chabot, Finkgräfe – Martel, Huseinbasic – Alidou (Selke 75‘), Kainz (Downs 75‘), Maina (Pacarada 65‘) – Adamyan (Tigges 87‘).
Goals: 0:1, Alidou 7’. 1:1, Honorat 32’. 1:2, Alidou 64’. 2:2, Hack 71’. 3:2, Hack 73’. 3:3, Downs 79’.
Referee: Felix Zwayer (Berlin).
Booked: Finkgräfe (22’), Jordan (31’), Chabot (39’), Hübers (41’), Neuhaus (47’), Martel (83’), Weigl (83’).
Attendance: 54,042 (sold-out).