Football: Itakura scores for Gladbach in costly loss to Dortmund
Japan football international Ko Itakura opened the scoring Sunday for Borussia Monchengladbach, but the visitors could not secure the points in a 3-2 loss to Bundesliga rivals Borussia Dortmund with big implications for both teams as they bid for European qualification.
Following back-to-back losses, Gladbach have dropped to ninth, three places below a European berth, while Dortmund have climbed to seventh with the latest result.
Itakura broke the deadlock with a well-taken strike against the run of play in the 24th minute, momentarily silencing the home crowd at Signal Iduna Park in Dortmund.
After dribbling through the center of the pitch, the Samurai Blue defender worked his way into the box with a one-two pass and beat Dortmund keeper Gregor Kobel one-on-one for his third league goal of the season.
"I was thinking about shooting to the right as soon as I broke through and it ended up being a nice goal," Itakura said.
Serhou Guirassy equalized for Dortmund in the 41st minute and the hosts added two more goals before the halftime whistle to lead 3-1 at the break. Kevin Stoger netted for Gladbach in the 56th minute but the visitors were unable to come back further.
Young Japanese striker Shio Fukuda came off the bench for Gladbach in the 83rd minute.
While the successive losses have dealt a blow to Gladbach's continental hopes, the 28-year-old Itakura is not giving up hope.
"These two games were very important so it's a big shock, but it's not over yet," Itakura said.
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