S04 fall to 2-0 friendly defeat in Mönchengladbach

Gomis in the starting line-up

Christian Gomis made his debut for the Royal Blues against the Foals, starting as the loan striker in a 3-4-2-1. Head coach Miron Muslic gave playing time to a total of 20 players during the course of the 90-minute friendly. Players from the club’s academy were also able to feature, with In-gyom Jung and Paul Pöpperl (both U23), as well as Luca Vozar and Mika Wallentowitz (both U19) all seeing some minutes.

Max Grüger, meanwhile, is set to be sidelined for the foreseeable future. The midfielder suffered a broken toe in training and is therefore unavailable for selection for the time being. Emil Højlund, Loris Karius, Hasan Kuruçay and Bryan Lasme were all rested. Also absent were Vitalie Becker, Nikola Katic and Moussa Sylla, with the trio currently away on international duty. Tomas Kalas and Zaid Tchibara continue to work on their comebacks from injury.

Borussia open the scoring early on

The first chance of the afternoon fell to Kenan Karaman just 90 seconds after kick-off, with the captain getting on the end of a cross from Mauro Zalazar. He was unable to connect fully, however, with his shot going wide of the right post. At the other end, Netz was then able to put away Gladbach’s first real opportunity of the game, after a long ball through from Giovanni Reyna. Netz then chipped a shot over goalkeeper Justin Heekeren to open the scoring (6′).

Despite conceding early on, the Royal Blues continued to look for ways to attack. Soufiane El-Faouzi won possession deep inside Borussia’s half and took aim from 20 metres out. His shot took a deflection and looked to be heading towards the top right corner, but Jonas Omlin was able to get to it in time. The next chance fell to Robin Hack, but his effort went just wide of the left post (22′). Just 120 seconds later, Gomis managed his first shot of the match but saw it saved by Omlin.

The Borussia shot-stopper was then on hand to parry an effort from Mertcan Ayhan in the 37th minute, after the defender had been able to direct a header on target following a corner. Minutes before, Finn Porath had been able to block a shot from Haris Tabakovic from inside the box.

Honorat makes it 2-0 just after the break

Muslic made five changes at half time, with the Foals also bringing on a trio of substitutes. The Royal Blues almost managed to net an equaliser immediately after the restart, with Felipe Sanchez’s shot on the turn cleared off the line. Christopher Antwi-Adjei managed to get on the end of a long ball into the box in the 50th minute, but sent his effort wide of the target (50′).

The hosts were then able to double their advantage after Honorat slotted his shot in off the far post, after it took a touch off Heekeren (53′). The Frenchman nearly added to his tally in the 65th minute, getting on the end of the chipped pass from Florian Neuhaus. This time, Heekeren was equal to it. The woodwork then denied the Foals a third goal in the 71st minute, as a corner-kick from the right-hand side bounced off the crossbar.

In the closing stages, Vozar and Wallentowitz linked up to nearly get one back for the Royal Blues, but the latter’s effort from ten metres out missed the mark. The final chance of the afternoon belonged to the visitors, as Henning Matriciani’s header following an Amin Younes free kick only went over the bar (88′).

At home against Kiel

The Royal Blues will be back in action in the league next Saturday, as they host Holstein Kiel at the VELTINS-Arena (13:00 CEST, 13/9).