Kaiserslautern Vs. Borussia Dortmund: 90th-Minute Jan Morávek Stunner Snatches A Point For ‘Lautern

This match looked set to be Borussia Dortmund’s second scoreless draw in succession, but with nine minutes to go Sven Bender popped up to score his first goal of the season. However, BVB didn’t have things go their way in the closing minutes as Neven Subotic capped off a poor performance by being sent off shortly after Bender had given the visitors a slender lead, and Kaiserslautern took advantage in the ninetieth minute as a beautiful half-volley from Jan Morávek prevented the home side from losing their fifth in succession.

Dortmund’s lead came after Lukasz Piszczek played a good ball into the box for Mario Götze, whose shot was blocked, The ball fell to Bender, who hit it on the turn into the far corner of the net, beyond Tobias Sippel. BVB looked like they had the game won at that stage, but Neven Subotic fouled Srdjan Lakic on ‘Lautern’s left side, about fifteen yards outside of the box. It was not totally clear why Subotic received a second yellow card -- it could have been either for a tactical foul or for complaining to the ref after Florian Meyer called the foul.

Nothing came of the free-kick, but the hosts kept pressing for an equalizer. Marcel Schmelzer gave up a cheap corner in the eighty-ninth minute, and though the ball was initially cleared it dropped to Morávek, who was on the left side of the D, just outside the penalty area. He took one touch and hit the ball perfectly on the half-volley; his shot flew into the top left corner, giving Roman Weidenfeller no chance. The draw moves ‘Lautern ahead of Werder Bremen and into fourteenth place, now a point clear of the relegation zone. Dortmund missed the chance to set a Bundesliga record for most away wins in a season, and have seen their lead at the top cut by two points after Bayer Leverkusen won earlier today. However, that lead is still quite robust at ten points, and they will have another chance to set the record when they visit Bayern Munich in two weeks’ time.