Elversberg stun Gladbach with stoppage-time winner to keep dream Bundesliga start alive

If around 2,000 people from the 13,000-resident town of Spiesen-Elversberg travelled to Mönchengladbach for the match, the streets back home may have been unusually quiet. In the Saarland town, almost everyone seemed to be watching the same question unfold: could Sport-Vereinigung Elversberg follow its opening win over Bayer Leverkusen with another surprise on its first away trip?

The answer was emphatic. Elversberg came from 1-3 down after an hour to win 4-3, delivering another shock in its first Bundesliga season. Mönchengladbach suffered a second defeat in two matches and was booed by its own supporters.

Gladbach started quickly. Hugo Bolin put the hosts ahead in the 11th minute, but Elversberg threatened through Francis Onyeka, who hit the post, and David Mokwa, who finished a counterattack to make it 1-1 in the 29th minute. Bolin restored Gladbach’s lead in the 44th minute, although the goal followed a throw-in that should have gone to Elversberg.

Elversberg coach Vincent Wagner protested so persistently that referee Martin Petersen showed him a yellow card and then a second yellow. Wagner watched the second half from the upper tier, where he saw Joe Scally extend Gladbach’s lead in the 56th minute.

Elversberg’s response reflected the mentality highlighted in the source. Maurice Krattenmacher pulled one back in the 66th minute, Felix Keidel curled in a free kick for 3-3 in the 80th, and Krattenmacher scored again in the second minute of stoppage time. Wagner clenched his fists at the final whistle before rushing onto the pitch to embrace his players.

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I was really caught up in it from above and enjoyed watching our boys play football.