The U21 team from Town took an unexpected early lead thanks to a goal from Leon Ayinde, but Borussia Mönchengladbach of the Bundesliga came back to defeat the youthful team 3-1 in this afternoon’s friendly at the ATS Sportpark in Heimstetten.
Town had to play their second string yesterday due to a shortage of senior players, which greatly irritated the German club. The only player in the squad with competitive first-team experience was goalkeeper Cieran Slicker.
The first meaningful action of the contest occurred in just the third minute, giving John McGreal’s team the lead.
Swiftly cutting from his line to the edge of his box, Slicker cleared a long ball forward in front of an oncoming attacker. The Swiss international misread his pass forward, which scuffed off the top of Die Fohlen keeper Jonas Omlin’s head. Leon Ayinde took advantage of the situation, cutting back inside before firing into the corner of the net to give the young Blues an unexpected 1-0 lead.
In the tenth minute, the Bundesliga team had their first real chance when Tim Kleindienst, a former Heidenheim striker, headed a deep ball from the right past the far post and fired a shot wide.
A minute later, striker Matty Roberts, representing Town, went down after stealing a sloppy pass from Mönchengladbach just outside the area and racing past Nico Elvedi into the box. Town’s youth were holding their own. But the referee determined—probably correctly—that the Wales U18 international had dove.
On the quarter-hour mark, the German team tied the score in contentious circumstances. Gladbach won a quick free-kick on the left, Kevin Stöger delivered the ball into the area, and Kleindienst rose high and unmarked to nod in his first goal for the team as the Town defense and Slicker were caught off guard, waiting for the whistle to blow.
Along with his teammates, the keeper ran well beyond his goal to convey that point to the referee, and he was booked for his protests.
After Blues midfielder Ryan Carr late tackled Stöger on 17, there was a fight between the two teams. Stöger reacted angrily before numerous more players from both teams joined in. Carr and Stöger were booked, and order was restored.
Mönchengladbach started to exert more confident control, and they took the lead in the 26th minute when Carr scored from the penalty spot after Alassane Pléa turned away from him on the left side of the box. Julian Weigl hit a perfect spot-kick down the center.
