The final game of matchday 29 in the Bundesliga saw Borussia Mönchengladbach suffer a 1-0 home defeat to 1. FC Union Berlin.
Around 52,000 fans in BORUSSIA-PARK saw the Foals control much of the proceedings in the first half, however, they struggled to find gaps in the organised Union defence, meaning only long-range efforts from Manu Koné and Lars Stindl forced the visiting goalkeeper into action. The away side themselves came closest to scoring through a deflected shot from Kevin Behrens, but a top save from Jonas Omlin kept the scores level at the break.
The away side picked up the energy levels in the second half and took the lead on the hour-mark through a volley from Sheraldo Becker. Borussia regained their grip on play afterwards, controlling the ball in the attacking half, but again found it difficult to create openings against a resolute Berlin defence and were unable to find an equaliser.
TEAM NEWS
There was just one change from the side that started the 1-1 draw against Frankfurt last week, with captain Lars Stindl taking Alassane Plea’s place in attack.
Christoph Kramer was ruled out at short notice with illness, while Tobias Sippel (forehead wound) and Yvandro Borges Sanches (returning to fitness) were missing as expected.
FIRST-HALF HIGHLIGHTS
10’: A promising start. Elvedi drives forward and sends Thuram on his way down the left-hand side. The Frenchman forces his way into the box, but has the ball stolen away just as he is about to shoot.
13’: Scally has time on the right flank to pick out his target from a cross. Thuram takes the ball on first-time, but he doesn’t make a sweet connection.
16’: The first shot on target comes from Koné, who takes aim from around 25 yards. It’s fairly central though and doesn’t cause Rønnow any real problems.
21’: A first decent opening for the away side. Becker plays it to Behrens, who looks for target, but some good hustling from Bensebaini puts him off and he misses the goal.
27’: Stindl tries his luck from distance and the shot is held by Rønnow.
28’: A wonderful stop from Omlin! Itakura throws himself in front of a shot from Becker that sends the ball looping into the air. It’s set to drop under the crossbar until Omlin manages to leap backwards and claw the ball to safety.
34’: Borussia win a free-kick on the edge of the box, but Bensebaini can’t beat the wall.
SECOND-HALF HIGHLIGHTS
49’: Roussillon unleashes the first shot of the half, although it’s wayward of the goal by some margin.
55’: Scally and Itakura work well together to smother shot from Behrens in the box, with Omlin able to gather the loose ball after.
60’: Union take the lead. Roussillon has time on the ball out wide to spot the run of Becker and curl a ball over the defence, which the striker finishes first-time past a helpless Omlin. 1-0 to Union.
71’: A decent opening. A cross into the box picks out Thuram, but he’s unable to put his header on target or find Ngoumou, who was in a good position.
77’: Ngoumou crosses to the back post and Thuram wins the header again. This time the ball lands on the roof of the net though.
83’: Another cross from the right, another Thuram header. It’s more dangerous this time, but Rønnow reads it well and is in a good position to make the save.
88’: Koné has a go from around 20 yards, but his shot lacks venom to really test Rønnow.
MATCH FACTS
Borussia: Omlin – Scally (68’ Lainer), Itakura, Elvedi, Bensebaini (68’ Netz) – Weigl, Koné – Hofmann, Neuhaus (68’ Ngoumou), Stindl (68’ Plea) – Thuram (87’ Friedrich) // Unused subs: Olschowsky, Herrmann, Wolf, Jantschke
Union Berlin: Rönnow - Doekhi, Knoche, Diogo Leite - Juranovic, R. Khedira, Roussillon (87’ Trimmel) – Laidouni (68’ Thorsby), Haberer (78’ Pantovic) - K. Behrens (68’ Jordan), Becker (78’ Michel) // Unused subs: Grill, Gießelmann, Baumgartl, Lewelin.
Goals: 0-1 Becker (60’)
Attendance: 52,107
Yellow cards: Itakura, Neuhaus, Elvedi – Laidouni, Behrens
Referee: Martin Petersen
