Foals gallop past Billy Goats in convincing Rhein derby win

Borussia Mönchengladbach secured their third consecutive win in all competitions, edging local rivals 1. FC Köln 3-1 in the Rhein derby at Borussia-Park on Saturday.

It was Köln who created the first real chance of the evening, with Moritz Nicolas denying Marius Bülter’s low shot 10 minutes into the game.

At the other end, Marvin Schwäbe made a strong reflex save six minutes later to keep out Haris Tabakovic, who was aiming to score for the third game in a row.

Tabakovic had another golden opportunity from the penalty spot just before halftime after Kristoffer Lund brought down Franck Honorat in the box, but Schwäbe produced a strong save..

However, the Foals had little time to dwell on that, as they broke the deadlock from the following corner, with Philip Sander scrambling the ball into the net.

Just past the hour mark, Die Fohlen were awarded another penalty after Lund handled the ball inside the box. Kevin Diks stepped up and successfully converted, doubling the lead.

Gladbach added a third with a clinical counter-attack in the 64th minute: Franck Honorat set up Haris Tabakovic, who slotted home to make it 3-0.

Late in the game, Luca Waldschmidt thought he had pulled a consolation goal back for Köln, but the effort was ruled out after Ragnar Ache was flagged offside in the build-up.

A few minutes later, Köln were awarded a penalty – the third of the game – after Lukas Ullrich brought down Ache in the box. Waldschmidt stepped up and converted, giving Köln a late glimmer of hope.

Despite this, Gladbach held on for a 3-1 victory, climbing to 12th in the Bundesliga table, while Köln remain 9th.