Martel strikes late as 10-man Köln hold Gladbach in six-goal Rhine derby thriller
| Photo: Christof Koepsel/Getty Images. |
In the 100th-ever Rhineland derby between 1.FC Köln and Borussia Mönchengladbach this afternoon, goals rained at the RhineEnergie Stadion as an under fire Lukas Kwasniok and Köln had to settle for a thrilling 3-3 stalemate with Eric Martel striking late for parity.
A lot was on the line in terms of Bundesliga survival and pressure on both coaches in this clash which ultimately required less than 30 seconds to burst to life. Franck Honorat found Jens Castrop at the back post, converting for 1-0 with Köln's Cenny Neumann caught napping.
This was the catalyst for a deadly response as Köln netted two quickfire goals before the seventh minute. Ísak Jóhannesson sent a long ball to Said El Mala who beat Moritz Nicolas with a deflected strike and three minutes later, Jakub Kaminskí crossed for a Ragnar Ache tap in.
The century meeting of these two foes set it's own history being the first of its kinda to see three goals scored so quickly. Soon it became four as Gladbach made it 2-2 when Castrop fed Philipp Sander centrally – his initial shot was blocked by Martel before converting from the rebound.
In any true Rhineland rivalry, there came a fair share of obligatory meaty challenges from both sides. There could have been more goals before the break – Köln's Jóhannesson firing narrowly wide from range, while Kevin Diks of Gladbach nodded an attacking set-piece onto the post.
After the break Köln and Marvin Schwäbe felt aggrieved about Gladbach's tackling which earned him a yellow card. After a brief lull, perhaps the game's greatest moment arrived. Castrop, cutting in off the left, beat Neumann to unleash a rocket that kissed the crossbar on its way to the net.
By this point, Lukas Kwasniok cut a nervous figure on the Effzeh bench with 25 minutes remaining. Felipe Chavez and Yan Thielmann replaced Jóhannesson and the luckless Neumann on his full debut. Further changes followed with Waldschmidt, Bülter and Kainz thrown on.
The veteran Austrian attacker would be key to unlocking Gladbach for a third time with just six minutes remaining. Martel rose above Elvedi to head in the 33-year-old's corner for parity. Amazingly, Martel would be sent off for a second yellow card upon the restart – his elbow striking Joe Scally in an aerial duel.
It had all the hallmarks for a nervy finish thereafter as 10-men Köln applied pressure to a jittery Gladbach. The guests also threatened in 5 minutes of injury time as Rocco Reitz tested Schwäbe from range, but it finished honours even after an exhilarating derby as the match arbiters left to whistles from the home crowd.
