Niko Kovač pleased with Borussia Dortmund's grit in Roma friendly
Borussia Dortmund head coach Niko Kovać praised his players after fighting back to draw 2-2 with AS Roma in a friendly on Saturday.
Borussia Dortmund head coach Niko Kovać praised his players after fighting back to draw 2-2 with AS Roma in a friendly on Saturday.
Dortmund appeared to be in for a rough afternoon when they went 2-0 down inside nine minutes against the Serie A side.
Come the final whistle, however, the mood around the Black & Yellows’ camp was a distinctly positive one following goals from Julian Ryerson and Serhou Guirassy to level the score at 2-2.
“In the first eight minutes we simply weren’t there," said Kovač afterwards. "We switched off twice, but after that we showed a great reaction. Coming back from 2-0 down against an Italian side isn’t exactly easy.”
Dortmund even had chances to grab a winner, with summer signing Konstantinos Karetsas coming closest in the second half as he rattled an effort off the crossbar.
Incidentally, the friendly against Roma was the 18-year-old's second test since joining from Belgian outfit Genk earlier in the summer. As was the case against Arsenal, Karetsas played with real freedom and creativity, carving out several good chances throughout.
The only thing lacking from his impressive performance was a goal – which he had managed on his debut against the Gunners - but the anticipation among the fans for his first competitive matches is certainly continuing to grow.
“In Arsenal and now Roma, we’ve faced two top European opponents, so we head into the Supercup against Bayern with a good feeling,” said sporting director Lars Ricken.
Kovač’s charges take on the defending Bundesliga champions on Saturday 22 August (kick-off 8:30pm CEST) for the first piece of silverware of the season.
