SC Paderborn 07 came from behind to defeat Fortuna Düsseldorf on Sunday afternoon in the 2. Bundesliga, winning 2-1 despite trailing 1-0 after only two minutes.
Team news
With both sides having failed to record victory in their opening games last week, changes were bound to be made to the line-ups that started this match, however, Düsseldorf manager Frank Kramer fielded the same 11 that drew 1-1 with Union Berlin seven days ago.
Markus Gellhaus, on the other hand, made two changes to the side that lost 1-0 at home to VfL Bochum a week ago, adjusting the front line after they failed to get off the mark in round one. Out came Suleyman Koc, carrying a thigh injury, and Moritz Stoppelkamp, with Mahir Saglik and Idir Ouali replacing them, both of whom came off the bench to try and influence the game in Paderborn's favour last weekend.
Düsseldorf are quick out of the blocks to take an early lead
A lively start to the game by Düsseldorf was quickly rewarded with a goal as they broke the deadlock with less than two minutes on the clock. The hosts threatened early on with some effective wide play, Paderborn unable to get out of their own half, and it was no surprise that this is where they created the opening goal.
Lukas Schmitz was the key man in the build up, the left-back chipping the ball in for Didier Ya Konan to control before receiving it back from the Ivorian as he made a quick run down the left flank. From here, he drilled a pacey, low cross into the danger area where Mathis Bolly was lurking, the 24-year-old side-footing past Lukas Kruse in the away goal from a few yards out.
Saglik curled a free-kick wide a few minutes later at the other end, but Düsseldorf remained on top with three successive corners in the opening 10 minutes posing problems for Paderborn, especially the first two, with good defending from the visitors the only thing preventing their opponents from doubling their advantage.
Paderborn did get a hold on the game more as it progressed, but Düsseldorf continued to look the more likely to score as Michael Liendl tried to play Joel Pohjanpalo through on goal, only for the pass to run through to Kruse, despite the striker's best efforts to connect with it. Schmitz remained a huge threat on the left too, and he almost added to his one assist as the 20 minute mark neared, but a combination of good defending by Paderborn and poor play from Bolly prevented him from doing so on two occasions.
Paderborn search for an equaliser
The visitors, trailing so early, were desperate to get back into the match quickly to avoid chasing the game late on, and Ouali looked to be their best bet of doing this as he continued to be a menace on the left wing. Kevin Akpoguma struggled to contain the Algerian throughout, but was fortunate in that his centre-backs did well to deal with Ouali's deliveries into the box, as did goalkeeper Michael Rensing when needed.
Yet, with Paderborn pouring men forward, they were suspect to a quick counter attack though, and this almost proved to be their undoing just short of the half hour mark. Sercan Sararer regained possession just inside his own half on the left wing, feeding Liendl who lifted the ball over for Ya Konan. The Ivorian spotted Kruse off his line as he received the pass and opted to shoot first time, trying to lift the ball over the goalkeeper, but his effort fell just wide of the far post.
Though it was the visitors seeing more of the ball, it was Düsseldorf doing more with it, with their attacking moves extremely incisive and fluent when executed, with one and two touch football helping them carve through Paderborn with relative ease, even if it was not as often as that seen in the opening stages.
Yet, Ouali continued to cause problems for the hosts at the other end as he raced down the left and fired goalwards on 33 minutes, forcing a splendid fingertip save from Rensing, who was on his toes to deny the forward despite having little to do.
A feisty end to the half gave Paderborn several opportunities to equalise from set pieces, but Marcel Ndjeng failed to convince with his deliveries, with Düsseldorf coming closest as the break neared as Liendl's deflected effort was tipped around the post by Kruse.
The key to getting back into the game lied on the left wing for the visitors, with Ouali having plenty of success, as was Saglik when he drifted out there, and the fact that Akpoguma was on his last warning following a handful of fouls would be an added reason for Paderborn to really get at their hosts down this flank in the second half.
Great start to the second half helps Paderborn turn things around
Düsseldorf started the second half on the front foot, but Paderborn should have levelled the scores within two minutes of the restart when the hosts' back line simply evaporated, allowing Saglik to play Nick Proschwitz through on goal, but Rensing came out on top in the one on one, to the striker's disbelief.
However, he didn't allow this to play on his mind for too long as, just five minutes later, the German netted his side's equaliser after Michael Heinloth delivered a teasing cross into the area for him to convert. Saglik was again involved, playing Heinloth in down the right, and there was enough on the cross to allow Proschwitz to direct it goalwards without making the cleanest contact.
From here, the visitors really took control and started to dominate, with Düsseldorf's defence in tatters as Rensing made an spectacular save to deny Proschwitz once more, this time from a corner.
Bolly nearly doubled his and the home side's tally for the day on the hour when he received Pohjanpalo's pass with a delightful spin that took him through on goal, but Kruse made a terrific stop to deny the goal-scorer, and this would prove significant 10 minutes later when Paderborn took the lead.
Saglik played his part again in a lively performance, making his way past several challenges before the ball fell to Dominik Wydra and eventually broke kindly in the area for Ndjeng, who make no mistake in prodding home clinically from 10 yards out as space opened up for him to do so.
Düsseldorf push for a point but their opponents stand strong
Having established a lead in the game, Paderborn were keen to keep it and defended valiantly in an attempt to do so. Ya Konan was in the mood to net an equaliser though, threatening with a strike from 20 yards that was bravely blocked by a defender, before Sararer tried to find his run with a bending cross, only for it to evade the desperate lunge of the Ivorian striker.
With seven minutes to go, Julian Koch saw his powerful, goal-bound header from a corner blocked and cleared on the line by substitute Sebastian Schonlau, Düsseldorf again came close to that elusive second goal through Sararer in the final two minutes, but Kruse made a great point blank stop before Brückner, who could've been sent off for a second yellow moments prior, blocked Christian Strohdiek's rebound.
Strohdiek had a half-chance in the fourth minute of stoppage time, but he was unable to find the target from the edge of the box and the final whistle followed shortly afterwards, with Paderborn celebrating at full time having turned the game on its head after Düsseldorf took a second minute lead.
The recently-relegated side are now off the mark this season after losing last weekend, whereas the hosts have just one point to show from their first two games.