Late Dost goal denies Gladbach
Mönchengladbach - Borussia Mönchengladbach dropped their first home points of the season after being held to a 2-2 draw by VfL Wolfsburg.
Chances at both ends
Diego gave the visitors the lead ten minutes into the second half, but goals from Raffael and Juan Arango put Gladbach 2-1 ahead. Substitute Bas Dost then netted an equaliser four minutes from time to bring the Foals’ unblemished 2013/14 home record to an end.
Gladbach went into the game boasting a 100 per cent record at home this term, but it was the visitors who had the better of the opening exchanges at Borussia Park. Ivica Olic almost gave the Wolves a deserved lead when he fired just wide of the target after latching onto Daniel Caligiuri’s long ball over the top.
Marc-Andre ter Stegen then cleared an Olic shot straight to the feet of Maximilian Arnold, but the Gladbach keeper redeemed himself with a fine stop to deny the 19-year-old. Despite the visitors’ early dominance, Lucien Favre’s team could have taken the lead on the half-hour mark when Patrick Herrmann’s cross found an unmarked Max Kruse in the Wolfsburg penalty area, only for the 25-year-old’s effort to fly high over the bar.
Blow for blow
Wolfsburg thought they had taken the lead ten minutes before the break when Caligiuri dribbled his way into the penalty area and fired past ter Stegen into the roof of the net, but the midfielder was adjudged to have handled the ball in the build-up and the goal was ruled out. As the half drew to a close, the hosts began to apply more pressure on the visiting defence, with Raffael twice firing wide from a promising position.
However, Dieter Hecking’s side started the second half as they did the first and finally made the breakthrough when Diego collected a pass from Ricardo Rodriguez inside the area, turned and poked beyond the reach of ter Stegen for his second goal in as many games. Their lead didn’t last long, as Raffael dribbled past Rodriguez and Robin Knoche, before unleashing an unstoppable shot into the far corner of Diego Benaglio’s goal.
Dost levels
Gladbach were in the ascendancy and Raffael could have doubled his tally for the afternoon moments after his equaliser, but the Brazilian poked his shot over the bar from deep inside the penalty area. It was a moment of magic that handed the Foals the lead just five minutes later, Arango curling a delightful free-kick into the roof of Benaglio’s net via the underside of the crossbar.
Benaglio did well to deny Christoph Kramer and keep the score at 2-1 and Max Kruse could have put the result beyond doubt when he fired over for the second time in the match, but it was the visitors who had the last laugh. The home defence failed to clear a bouncing ball and although ter Stegen was able to block Luiz Gustavo’s effort, the loose ball was prodded home by Dost for his first goal of the season. The point moves Gladbach into third, ahead of Borussia Dortmund, while Hecking’s team remain in fifth.
Line-ups and statistics
