11.01.2010

Borussia win Winter Cup

Borussia brought their winter preparations to a successful conclusion on Sunday, beating VfL Wolfsburg 3-2 and home side Fortuna Düsseldorf 1-0 in the final to lift the Winter Cup.

In the semi-final against German champions VfL Wolfsburg Borussia captain Filip Daems, after a couple of outings in friendlies at the club training camp, made his first appearance on German soil since his injury layoff. Head coach Michael Frontzeck also handed opportunities to under-19 players Bernhard Janeczek in central defence and Patrick Herrmann on the right side of attacking midfield, both of whom also attended the Spanish training camp.

Borussia took a deserved lead in the 20th minute when Bobadilla latched onto a perfect cross from Tobias Levels, taking the ball off strike partner Rob Friend's toe and hammering an unstoppable shot past Benaglio into the top right-hand corner. Just two minutes later the Switzerland goalkeeper was beaten again. Having switched to the left flank, Patrick Herrmann slipped a superb pass to Daems, who rifled the ball into the same corner of the goal as Bobadilla to give Borussia a two-goal advantage.

Now the German champions had clearly had enough! With 26 minutes gone Grafite shrugged off a number of challenges in the penalty area and chipped the ball superbly over Logan Bailly to halve the deficit. And on 35 Christian Gentner levelled the scores with a horizontal bicycle kick after Borussia had failed to clear their lines following a free-kick from the left. Three minutes later, Logan Bailly denied Grafite to prevent his side from going 3-2 behind. But the winner, when it eventually came in the dying seconds of the 45-minute game, was to be scored by Borussia. And again it was Bobadilla, who duped his marker Barzagli before smashing the ball home from ten metres to book a place in the final against Fortuna Düsseldorf.

Line-up against Wolfsburg: Bailly – Levels, Janeczek, Dante, Daems – Meeuwis, Marx – Herrmann, Arango – Bobadilla, Friend

Goals: 1-0 Bobadilla (20'), 2-0 Daems (22'), 2-1 Grafite (26'), 2-2 Gentner (35'), 3-2 Bobadilla (45')

Against the second division outfit Borussia made a slower start to the final. Frontzeck made ten changes to the side that contested the semi-final, with Rob Friend the sole survivor.

And with the game heading for a penalty shootout, as in the semi-final, Fabian Bäcker decided to do something about it. After Moses Lamidi's shot had been blocked, Michael Bradley passed to the 19-year-old striker, who gave his side the tournament win with a crisp finish. It is the second time that Borussia have lifted the Winter Cup.

Line-up against Düsseldorf: Heimeroth – Jantschke, Brouwers, Kleine, Jaurès – Bradley, Neustädter – Reus, Lamidi – Bäcker, Friend (Herrmann 32')

Goals: 1-0 Bäcker (44')

Attendance: 22,700