Simon Terodde: MD18's Man of the Matchday
With bottom club Cologne seemingly heading for a respectable 1-1 draw against high-flying local rivals Borussia Mönchengladbach on Sunday, up popped winter signing Simon Terodde to score a last-gasp winner for the Billy Goats to give them renewed hope in their battle against the drop.
The clock had entered the fifth minute of additional time at the RheinEnergieStadion when Konstantin Rausch received possession wide on the left wing. He curled a sumptuous cross into the penalty area, where it was met by Terodde, who glanced a header into the bottom corner to spark wild celebrations on the pitch and in the stands.
Watch: Terodde reacts to his match-winning goal
"It's indescribable," Terodde told bundesliga.com after sealing the 2-1 victory. "It was a really good cross from Rausch. It was the last second of the game. I got my body behind the ball and it went in at the back post.
"You saw what happened next," he continued. "I don't really know what happened next but there were ten or 15 guys on top of me. It was hard to breathe but nobody can take those emotions away from us. We're happy with the result, and that's the important thing."
In addition to being a memorable finish to a fiercely-contested derby it will be a confidence-booster for Terodde, who could not have wished for a better way to start his second spell at Cologne after returning to the club from Stuttgart during the winter transfer window.
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The 29-year-old has had a journeyman career spent mainly in Bundesliga 2, plying his trade at Duisburg, Fortuna Düsseldorf, Union Berlin and Bochum, scoring 89 goals in 187 appearances in Germany's second tier. He previously had a two-year spell at Cologne between 2009-2011, but only made five league appearances during that time.
Despite the victory over Gladbach, Cologne remain in 18th place but have now won two consecutive Bundesliga games for the first time this season and are just six points adrift of next week's opponents Hamburg in 17th.