Borussia Dortmund manager Niko Kovac lamented how his team failed to see out the last few minutes of their clash with Werder Bremen on Friday that saw them let a two-goal lead slip.
Despite being in control for large spells of the clash, the BVB only broke the deadlock in the 80th minute when Daniel Svensson finished from inside the box from a Serhou Guirassy layoff that Fabio Silva couldn't quiet connect with.
Five minutes later, Nico Schlotterbeck doubled their advantage by rising highest to meet with Joey Veerman's perfectly-weighted corner kick as Dortmund seemed to have the match in the bag with a fifth consecutive win on the horizon but Werder Bremen produced a late surge to wipe out their lead in no time.
Ludovit Reis reduced the deficit in the 88th minute after Schlotterbeck's forward pass was intercepted and he raced right through Felix Nmecha and Joey Veerman before arrowing a shot beyond Gregor Kobel for 2-1.
With a silver lining now in sight, the River Islanders pushed on for a second one and were rewarded for their character when former Dortmund star Niclas Fullkrug headed in a free-kick afer running it at completely unmarked.
In a space of just four minutes, Dortmund's two-goal lead was wiped out whilst also seeing their winning start to the top-flight campaign end. Head coach Niko Kovac regretted the late collapse from his side. Speaking to the press after the match, he said:
"For 88 minutes, we dominated the opponent, pinning them in the corner. But we failed to finish the last eight minutes the way we should have."
Dortmund grew complacent after the second goal, looking uneven in defense and leaving plenty of gaps which Bremen ultimately capitalized on. But Kovac feels the match should have been put to bed long before that given the chances his side enjoyed earlier on:
"We have to blame ourselves for that. We had a plethora of chances in the second half. "
Ethan Nwaneri came close shortly into the restart before seeing another effort go wide, while Schlotterbeck tried his luck from distance too. In the 62nd minute, Guirassy's header was also cleared off the line as Dortmund kept knocking on Bremen's door but a breakthrough remained elusive.
Kovac further stated the draw felt more like two points dropped rather than one point gained. He said:
"We're obviously disappointed. These are two points dropped for us. Hopefully, we'll learn from those last eight minutes."
Borussia Dortmund return to action on Wedneday, 14 October against Bodo/Glimt in the Champions League.
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