History repeats itself – RBL left frustrated by naivety | OneFootball

Even a day after the 2-2 draw against Borussia Dortmund, it still feels like a defeat. BVB’s late equaliser in stoppage time cruelly denied the Red Bulls a home win.

Our boys produced a very good performance for long spells against the in-form second-placed Borussia. But once again, we lacked that final bit of ruthlessness in the decisive moments.

Not clinical enough

The lads missed the chance to wrap the game up with a third goal. That kept it open – and in the end, we couldn’t see out the 2-1 lead, despite having longer spells of possession in Dortmund’s half during the seven minutes of stoppage time.

Ole Werner pointed to the key moment before the bitter equaliser in the 95th minute: “It was unnecessary, because right before it happens, we have a great situation where we can head towards the corner flag and run the clock down,” he lamented. Instead, a loss of possession meant our team was too open in stoppage time – an invitation for the visitors’ typically strong transitions, which they gladly took advantage of.

“We have to manage moments like that better and see the game out more consistently,” demanded our head coach. Ole feels the team have dropped too many points after taking the lead. “For us, it’s about developing that astuteness – and we haven’t managed that yet.”

“We lack that nasty edge”

Our captain also criticised the lack of maturity in a young team: “Sometimes we lack that experience, that nasty edge. Sometimes you simply have to go towards the corner flag. In the end, there were too many moments we were weren’t clever enough or mature enough,” David Raum summed up after the match, before adding: “I’m extremely disappointed – really angry and frustrated, because we’ve thrown it away again.”

The stats underline that pattern. This season, RBL have drawn three times after going 1-0 up, while a game like that has ended in defeat on four occasions. “When you throw away 18 points from winning positions, it doesn’t just pass you by. With a record like that, it becomes unbelievably difficult to be right up at the top,” stressed Christoph Baumgartner.

Clear game plan, strong first half

The Austrian had earlier capped a very strong first half from Leipzig with his third brace of the campaign. From the first minute, Leipzig were dominant and on the front foot, impressing with positive body language and high intensity in the duels.

The game plan worked too: both goals came down the left. For the opener, Yan Diomande beat his man Julian Ryerson and drilled a low ball into the middle, while a precise delivery from Raum into the centre led to the second – and on both occasions, Baumgartner was there to finish.

That takes our top scorer to ten goals for the season – the first time he has reached double figures in a Bundesliga campaign.

Away trip to HSV

Baumgartner also scored twice against HSV earlier this season – and that’s where the focus now turns. In the 2-1 home win in the reverse fixture, the lads showed they can get a narrow lead over the line.

Next Sunday, away at the Volksparkstadion, we want to finally reward our efforts again with all three points.

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