It was the perfect attack at the end. The Saarbrücken outsiders counterattacked beautifully in stoppage time in front of the Gladbach goal. Speed, accuracy of the pass and a technically clean finish – and the cup miracle was achieved. The rest was partying in Ludwigspark.
The cup scare of the 2023/24 season struck again on Tuesday evening. After victories against second division Karlsruher SC, FC Bayern and Eintracht Frankfurt, Borussia Mönchengladbach was hit this time. 1. FC Saarbrücken is now in the semi-finals and should also have a chance in the duel with 1. FC Kaiserslautern.
The third division team will probably want continuous rain again. The fact that Lautern’s club legend Fritz Walter once preferred to play in this weather would give the whole thing an additional twist.
Another winning goal in stoppage time
Aside from the soggy pitch, there were many other things that reminded us of the previous Saarbrücken cup games this season. The winning goal against Karlsruhe and Bayern came in added time to make it 2-1, so this time the fans almost seemed to be waiting for it.
Now the Saarlanders want to make it to the final in Berlin and it wouldn’t be such a big sensation anymore. Perhaps this is the greatest achievement of coach Rüdiger Ziehl’s team.
Even though the winning goals often came late, the ninth-place team in the third division managed to prevail against the favorites in all rounds in regular time. Of course, luck is always part of it, but Saarbrücken didn’t just rely on that alone.
No team in the world could have played the winning counterattack to make it 2-1 against Gladbach better. The reward is now the chance for perhaps the biggest game in the club’s history and the prospect of a better playable pitch thanks to drainage. Some people in Saarbrücken will also feel a bit melancholy at this thought.
Source: Tagesspiegel
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