Jordan Pefok scored his first goal for Borussia Monchengladbach since arriving on loan from Union Berlin as they came from behind to secure a point against Darmstadt. Elsewhere, Lennard Maloney and Heidenheim got their first-ever Bundesliga win in their game against Werder Bremen.
Darmstadt 3-3 Borussia Monchengladbach
Darmstadt was on fire in the first half, but lost their momentum in the second as Borussia Monchengladbach mounted a comeback to secure a point in a thriller at the Merck-Stadion am Bollenfalltor.
Jordan Pefok started his first game for the Foals and played its entirety, completing 90 percent of his passes, winning three duels, and taking four shots. Joe Scally also started and played the first half, completing 76 percent of his passes, winning four duels, and making a tackle.
The hosts jumped out to the lead after eight minutes when Fabian Holland played the ball over the top to Marvin Mehlem who did well to bring the ball under control before putting his shot past goalkeeper Moritz Nicolas. They would add another two minutes later Matej Maglica as he headed in a cross from Tobias Kempe.
Darmstadt made it 3-0 in the 33rd minute when Tim Skarke fired home from just inside the 18-yard box after Christoph Klarer headed the ball to him following a free-kick.
It seemed that ‘Gladbach was in for a heavy loss, but they got a glimmer of hope in the 49th minute when the referee showed Maglica a red card for a foul in the box. Tomas Cvancara stepped up for the spot-kick, but his attempt was saved by Marcel Schuhen.
However, the visitors pulled one back in the 56th minute when Rocco Reitz went on an amazing run as he dribbled the ball past several defenders before cutting back to Pefok to tap in. Florian Neuhaus grabbed their second in the 73rd minute when he knocked in Cvancara’s header.
Cvancara completed their comeback four minutes later when he slammed home a long-range strike.
Monchengladbach moves up to 14th place with two points.
Heidenheim 4-2 Werder Bremen
There was a huge celebration at the Voith Arena as Heidenheim recorded their first-ever Bundesliga win in comfortable fashion over Werder Bremen.
Lennard Maloney started and played the entire 90 minutes and change, completing 74 percent of his passes, winning six duels, and making three tackles.
The hosts got things off on the right foot as the referee awarded them a penalty just minutes into the start. Tim Kleindienst would do the honors and convert the spot-kick in the fifth minute. They had to wait just before halftime to double their lead when Kleindienst played the ball to Eren Dinkci who then went on a dazzling run before scoring.
Werder kept themselves in the game 49th minute as Marvin Ducksch scored a penalty. That was followed by Mitchel Weiser in the 64th minute when he headed in Olivier Deman’s cross from the left side of the box.
Heidenheim would have the last word in the game a they rallied to score two more goals to send their supporters away in a joyous mood.
Dinkci restored their leaad in the 68th minute when Jan Beste’s low cross was allowed to roll through and the German midfielder made Werder pay with his second strike on the day. Beste then got his goal in the 76th minute as Kleindienst set him up for the chance.
The win pushes Heidenheim up to 11th place in the standings with four points.
Duisburg 2-3 Verl
Mael Corboz would be the hero for Verl as he scored twice to help his team make a dramatic comeback for the win over Duisburg at the Schauinsland Reisen Arena 3. Liga action.
The captain started and went the distance for Verl while on the other side, Santiago Castaneda played the full 90 minutes.
The hosts took charge of the game nine minutes into the contest when Caspar Jander played the ball to Joshua Bitter to score Die Zebras first on the day. Jander would play provider again four minutes later when his cut-back pass found Sebastian Mai at the top of the 18-yard box to slot home.
Duisburg was dominant for much of the first half, but the visitors pulled one back in the 45th minute when Yari Otto passed the ball to Corboz to take a shot at goal. His shot was well on target as it took a deflect off teammate Lars Lokotsch’s foot before going in.
The momentum appeared to shift as both teams came out for the second half as Corboz got his name on the scoresheet in the 56th minute. Oliver Batista Meier took possession of the ball on the left side of the 18-yard box before passing it to the onrushing midfielder. Corboz’s initial shot was blocked, but the ball went into the air, allowing him to head it past the goalkeeper.
The former New York Red Bull saved the best for last in the 93rd minute of play when Verl was given a corner kick. Duisburg was able to clear out of the area, but Corboz was left wide open to pounce on the loose ball. Similar to his first goal, his shot was blocked, but he was fortunate to get it back and fire the game-winner into the back of the net.
The win moves Verl up to 11th place in the standings with seven points, while Duisburg sits rock bottom with three.
Notes
Elsewhere in the Bundesliga, John Brooks and Hoffenheim made three wins in a row as they proved dominant in their 3-1 victory over FC Cologne.
Brenden Aaronson returned from suspension to play 17 minutes for Union Berlin, while Kevin Paredes did not come off the bench for Wolfsburg as they came away with a narrow 2-1 win over the capital team.
Paxten Aaronson played the final 10 minutes for Eintracht Frankfurt as they shared the points following a 1-1 draw with Bochum.
In the 2. Bundesliga, both Julian Green and Maximilian Dietz started for Greuther Furth while Nathaniel Brown played the first half for Nurnberg as both teams settled for a 1-1 draw.
Terrence Boyd played nine minutes for Kaiserslautern as they could only muster a 1-1 draw with Karlsruhe.
Johan Gomez went 86 minutes for Eintracht Braunschweig as they were blanked by Hertha Berlin in a 3-0 defeat.
Down in the 3. Liga, Ryan Malone went the distance for Ingolstadt in their come-from-behind 2-1 win over 1860 Munich.
Andrew Wooten came off the bench to assist on a goal for Preussen Munster while Joseph Richardson watched on again from the bench for Sandhausen in their 2-1 defeat.
Isaiah Young played 62 minutes as Rot-Weiss Essen took a point in their 0-0 draw with Jahn Regensburg.
Jalen Hawkins made a cameo appearance off the bench very late as nine-man Waldhof Mannheim fell in a 2-0 loss to Ulm.
Justin Butler came off the bench in stoppage time for Borussia Dortmund II in the 2-1 win over Viktoria Koln.
Follow Yanks Abroad on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn for news and views on Americans playing the beautiful game around the world and the U.S. national team.
