Grabara blunder costs Wolfsburg in stalemate with Kiel

Bundesliga Matchday 19 kick-started with VfL Wolfsburg taking on Holstein Kiel in Lower Saxony. In the end, the spoils were shared in a 2-2 stalemate.

VfL Wolfsburg failed to bounce back from last weekend’s defeat to Bayern Munich as a stubborn and well-drilled Holstein Kiel dug in deep to salvage a vital point on the road. Many fingers will point in the direction of Kamil Grbara who was at fault for the final goal which surrendered the winning position as Mainz, Freiburg and Werder Bremen begin to breathe down the neck of Die Wölfe who are sixth in the Bundesliga table as things stand. 

Despite a sharp start with early chances falling the way of Mohamed Amoura and Tiago Tomás, Wolfsburg fell behind in the 13th-minute as David Zec netted for Kiel. Arriving from Slovenian club Celje during the winter transfer window, the Slovenian nodded home from a Dominik Javorcek set-piece. Barring a speculative effort from Konstantinos Koulierakis that sailed past Weiner’s post, Kiel remained compact to take the lead into the break. 

Unhappy with his team’s efforts, Ralph Hassnhüttl didn’t hesitate to introduce winter signing Andreas Skov-Olsen and Patrick Wimmer at the start of the second-half. The Austrian international would restore parity in the 50th-minute as Jonas Wind supplied the pass for Wimmer to slip it beneath Weiner. Die Wölfe surged into a 2-1 lead with the subsequent attack as Wind rose high to meet Wimmers’ pinpoint corner as the substitute played another critical role. 

As Wolfsburg switched to a back three when Mathias Svanberg departed for Sebastian Bornauw, Kiel continued to struggle. Wind could have made it a brace had he steered Skov-Olsen’s cross on target. There was no shortage of time for a twist in the tale as Kiel pulled level in the 80th-minute. Kamil Grbara won’t want to see it again – the Polish shot-stopper watched in despair as he parried Steven Skrzybski’s strike which squirmed over the goal-line for an invaluable point.