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Gladbach win in Frankfurt

Dave RaishMarch 1, 2013

Borussia Mönchengladbach have grabbed an important away win against Eintracht Frankfurt. The 1-0 victory stops the Foals second-half season slump, and temporarily moves them back into a European place.

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FRANKFURT AM MAIN, GERMANY - MARCH 01: Luuk de Jong of Moenchengladbach celebrates his team's first goal during the Bundesliga match between Eintracht Frankfurt and Borussia Moenchengladbach at Commerzbank-Arena on March 1, 2013 in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. (Photo by Alex Grimm/Bongarts/Getty Images)
Image: Getty Images

Borussia Mönchengladbach went into Friday night's game against Eintracht Frankfurt without a win in six games, and Lucien Favre's men had no intention of making it seven. A 1-0 win, courtesy of a Luuk de Jong header, against a strong Frankfurt side puts the Foals on a positive track.

Frankfurt had the important additions of Takashi Inui and Srdjan Lakic to their lineup going into the match. The Japanese midfielder was back after serving a suspension for a red card against Borussia Dortmund, while the Croatian striker had recovered from a back injury.

It didn't take long for the two to make their presence noticed at the CommerzBank-Arena. Just moments after kickoff, Lakic played a ball to Inui in the box, but he put his shot right at Gladbach goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen, who calmly scooped it up.

In the 22nd minute, Gladbach went on the offensive. Foals winger Patrick Herrmann did well to power past Carlos Zambrano on the right side of the area before centering to Armin Younes. But the young striker's shot from close range was blocked by Frankfurt's rising-star right back Sebastian Jung (whose most recent transfer rumor has him moving to Arsenal for 9 million euros).

But on the ensuing corner, Thorben Marx flicked the ball into the center of the box with his head, where de Jong (pictured above) was there to nod it home to put Gladbach up 1-0.

Frankfurt pressure, Gladbach hold

Throughout much of the second half, Frankfurt controlled the majority of possession and kept the ball in the Gladbach half. Inui in particular caused trouble for the visitor's defense. But none of the many chances the clever attacker managed to create got by ter Stegen, who was strong in goal as usual.

Frankfurt's best chance to equalize came from midfielder Stefan Aigner, who found himself open in the center of the box and on the end of a wonderful cross from left back Bastian Oczipka in the 73rd minute, but he headed high over the ball.

Despite Frankfurt's heavy pressure, the visitors held on and finished 1-0. The win temporarily moves Gladbach out of 10th place and into 6th, on track to qualify for the Europa League.

Frankfurt, meanwhile, continue their slide having gone four games without a win. Although they remain in the Bundesliga's fourth and final Champions League spot after the loss, a win this weekend from surprise side Freiburg against Nuremberg would bump them into fifth.