Patrick Herrmann (l.) scored his first home goal in a year for Mönchengladbach
Patrick Herrmann (l.) scored his first home goal in a year for Mönchengladbach

Foals earn Rhine bragging rights

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Mönchengladbach took the honours in the Matchday 19 Lower Rhine derby, with a 2-1 home victory over Düsseldorf that lifts them up to seventh in the table.

Fortuna battle back

Gladbach hit the ground running, albeit with a little help from the visitors. With just six minutes on the clock, Oscar Wendt picked up Juan Arango's pass down the left and fired a ball across the six-yard area that Düsseldorf central defender Juanan only succeeded in diverting past his own keeper, Fabian Giefer.

Buoyed by such an ideal opening, the lively Foals sought to press home their advantage and in the 14th minute they did just that. Tolga Cigerci blocked an attempted clearance by Fortuna's Johannes van den Bergh and the ball fell to Luuk de Jong, who teed up Patrick Herrmann for the simplest of close-range finishes.

Less than quarter of an hour on the clock and the home side already looked well in control of proceedings. Fortuna's first chance of note fell midway through the half, Robbie Kruse firing narrowly wide after being set up by Oliver Fink. Not long after that, Dani Schahin drilled another shot just past the post as the guests looked to be gradually warming to the task. That was as close as they would come before the interval however in an increasingly evenly-balanced encounter, due in part to Borussia easing off the gas somewhat.

Five minutes into the second half the complexion of the contest changed when Fortuna were awarded a penalty when de Jong handled the ball in his own area following a corner. Schahin stroked the spot-kick past home keeper Andre ter Stegen and it was game on again - with Düsseldorf the side now making the running. Gladbach for their part had switched to a counter-attacking strategy, which ultimately paid off as they secured the victory.



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