Pascal Stenzel (bottom) of Freiburg vies with Jonas Hofmann of Moenchengladbach during the Bundesliga match between Borussia Moenchengladbach and SC Freiburg in Moenchengladbach, Germany, March 15, 2019. The match ended in a 1-1 draw. (Xinhua/Ulrich Hufnagel)
BERLIN, March 15 (Xinhua) -- Alassane Plea's first-half equalizer secured Borussia Monchengladbach a 1-1 draw with Freiburg at the curtain raiser of the 26th round in Bundesliga on Friday.
The "Foals" suffered a setback for a top-four finish as Dieter Hecking's men lacked in penetration to reap all three points at home against resilient Freiburg.
Freiburg enjoyed a fairy tale start as Vincenzo Grifo's right footed shot found the back of the net only 10 minutes into the game.
It remained a short-lived joy for the visitors. Monchengladbach responded just six minutes later when Thorgan Hazard's square pass met Alassane Plea, who tapped home from very close range to level the scores.
However, the two goals did not increase the pace of the encounter as Jonas Hofmann missed the target in the 19th minute before goalkeeper Yann Sommer denied Grifo the second goal of the day in the 36th minute.
After the restart, Monchengladbach took control but posing little threat to Freiburg's well-positioned defense.
The hosts increased the pressure but only Jonas Hofmann was able to reap a clear-cut opportunity for Monchengladbach in the second half.
Freiburg stood firm and hijacked one point from Monchengladbach, who lacked in ideas and penetration.
With the result, Borussia Monchengladbach climb to the third place for the moment and Freiburg jumped to the 11th position in the standings.
"We absolutely deserved the point today and I am just glad that my team managed to grab a draw again," Freiburg's head coach Christian Streich said.
The following fixtures are scheduled for the 26th round on Saturday: Hertha Berlin encounter runner-up Borussia Dortmund, struggling Schalke see fourth placed Leipzig, Stuttgart host Hoffenheim, Augsburg clash with bottom side Hannover and Wolfsburg see newly promoted Fortuna Dusseldorf.
