Nordtveit fires from distance in an attempt to make it 6-0, but his shot is weak and is easily saved by Vale.
90' +1
A. Angeli is unfortunate, scores an own goal!
GOAL! And now it's 5-0! Hazard fires a cross-cum-shot from the right hand side of the Apollon penalty area that ends up taking an unfortunate deflection of Angeli that sends the ball past Vale and into the back of the net.
90'
The fourth official has indicated that there will be four minutes of added time.
89'
Gladbach remain firmly in control as we enter the final few minutes of the game, with Apollon looking completely bereft of confidence and belief.
87'
Apollon fail to clear the ball and it drops to Raffael on the edge of the penalty area, and he twists and turns around three white and blue shirts before firing a shot that's stopped well by Vale.
85'
Sangoy darts forward and fires a shot from the right hand side of the Gladbach penalty area, but it's poorly hit and ends up flying well wide of the goal.
83'
P. Herrmann has scored a goal for Borussia M'gladbach! Assist by T. Hazard.
GOAL! Gladbach are making it look so easy! A fantastic low cross is whipped across goal by Hazard and Herrmann, who has only been on the pitch for three minutes, is easily able to fire the ball into the back of the net with a great first-time shot.
81'
Apollon are pushing as many bodies forward in an attempt to try and salvage something from this game, but the Gladbach defenders, who have been fantastic all night, are denying them any opportunity to find a way through.
80'
P. Herrmann enters the game and replaces B. Hrgota.
79'
Hrgota has done his part and is brought off to be replaced by young midfielder Herrmann.
Minute
Description
77'
H. Nordtveit gets yellow.
Nordtveit clumsily dives in to Paulo and ends up receiving a yellow card as a result.
76'
Raffael and Hrgota link up wonderfully well on the edge of the penalty area but Paulo is just about able to stick a foot out at the last moment to deny the Brazilian the chance to penetrate the Apollon box.
74'
Gladbach regain possession and the ball ends up with Nordtveit 35 yards out. The Norwegian, who is in acres of space, decides to shoot from far away but his effort ends up flying over the top of the crossbar.
72'
Apollon are trying to push forward in an attempt to find a way back into the game, or at least score a consolation goal, but are being trapped inside their own half of the pitch by the sea of black shirts in front of them.
70'
C. Meriem enters the game and replaces A. Guié Gneki.
Mahmoud Dahoud enters the game and replaces G. Xhaka.
Apollon are making their last change of the game, with Gneki coming off for Meriem.
Meanwhile, Gladbach have also made a substitution, with 18-year-old Dahoud coming on for Xhaka for the final 20 minutes of the game.
68'
Gladbach are in complete control at the moment as they push forward looking for a fourth goal. The Apollon defence are finding it impossible to deal with the hosts, who have been absolutely excellent since the first whistle.
66'
João Paulo enters the game and replaces N. Grigore.
I. Traoré has scored a goal for Borussia M'gladbach! Assist by B. Hrgota.
Grigore, who has only been on the pitch for 20 minutes, has been forced off due to injury, and Paulo has come on to replace him. Xhaka, meanwhile, seems to have recovered from his slight ankle injury.
GOAL! It's Traore again! Hrgota, with his back to goal, tees up the winger on the edge of the box and he ends up firing a fantastic low shot that beats Vale with ease. Gladbach are on fire and cruising towards a well-deserved three points!
64'
And now Xhaka has gone down injured after seemingly rolling his ankle trying to control the ball near the halfway line.
62'
Grigore is lying injured on the floor on the edge of the Gladbach penalty area and looks to have picked up a nasty groin injury.
60'
Lopez darts forward on what looks like a promising run but ends up getting the ball stuck between his feet, and, as a result, he's easily dispossessed by Jantschke just outside of the penalty area.
58'
Gladbach immediately break away on another impressive attack after regaining possession, but Traore's pass through the centre of the Apollon defence ends up missing Raffael by just a few inches.
56'
B. Hrgota has scored a goal for Borussia M'gladbach!
GOAL! Gladbach make it 2-0 and it's Hrgota with the goal! Traore cuts inside from the right wing and fires a great shot that's stopped wonderfully well by Vale, but the goalkeeper ends up parrying the ball into the path of the Swedish striker, who is then able to poke it into the back of the net from close range.
54'
M. Stranzl gets yellow.
Rezek breaks forward and sends a wonderful pass through to Gneki. The Ivorian striker is completely isolated in the Gladbach half of the pitch but does extremely well to hold up the ball and force Stranzl into committing a foul, which earns the Austrian defender a yellow card.
52'
A long ball forward from Robert bounces over the top of the Gladbach defence and into the path of Lopez inside the penalty area, but somehow the Spaniard is unable to control the ball and ends up scuffing his close-range shot straight at Sommer from just a few yards out.
50'
N. Grigore enters the game and replaces Marcos Gullón.
Apollon are making a substitution already, bringing Gullon off to be replaced by Grigore. It seems that the Spanish midfielder has picked up what looks like a groin injury.
48'
Apollon win a throw-in deep inside the Gladbach half of the pitch, and it's sent into the penalty area by Mulder. His long throw finds the head of Gneki, but the striker is unable to tee up a teammate and the hosts easily clear the danger.
46'
Raffael enters the game and replaces M. Kruse.
And we're underway once again!
45' +1
What a world-class double save from Vale! Hrgota breaks away and forces the Portuguese goalkeeper into a great stop with a rocket of a shot from the edge of the box. The ball is parried into the path of Hazard, who looks certain to score, but Vale is just about able to get up in time to save his effort with one hand.
45'
Again, Gladbach fail to get rid of the ball when in position deep inside their own half of the pitch, but this time Stranzl is there to clean up the mess on the edge of the box.
The fourth official has indicated that there will be one minute of added time.
44'
Xhaka fails to clear the ball just outside of the penalty area, allowing Lopez to fire a shot on goal from a very dangerous position, but, luckily for the hosts, his effort is poor and it sails out of play for a goal kick.
43'
Traore finds himself with the ball at his feet in almost exactly the same position as where he scored 32 minutes ago, but this time his shot isn't quite as good and he ends up blazing it over the top of the crossbar.
41'
Traore is dispossessed by Mulder and the Dutch right-back then breaks away on a darting run down the wing, but he's stopped in his tracks by Wendt midway inside the Gladbach half of the pitch.
39'
Rezek is still on the ground after the coming together between the two players, but his injury doesn't seem too serious.
38'
Nordtveit brings down Rezek with a poor challenge and Apollon are awarded a free kick near the halfway line. It looks as if the referee is going to book the Norwegian, but he ends up settling for a stern talking to.
36'
Apollon win themselves a corner and it's whipped in by Robert from the left side. The ball is half cleared by the Gladbach defence and ends up falling at the feet of Lopez, who is unmarked 35 yards out, and he decides to try and audacious long-range shot that, unsurprisingly, goes well wide of the goal.
34'
Fantastic shot by Traore! The Ivorian, who has been on fire this half, cuts inside from the right flank and curls a lovely effort on goal that only just misses the far post by a few inches.
32'
There are plenty of holes in the Apollon defence, and Gladbach are doing well to find each and every one of them. This time, Wendt bursts forward through the middle of a sea of white and blue shirts before firing a low shot from 25 yards out, but he ends up scuffing his effort slightly and it goes wide of the far post.
30'
What a save by Vale! Traore darts down the left flank and curls an absolutely fantastic ball into the middle of the Apollon penalty area, where it meets the head of Kruse, but his bullet header is saved acrobatically by the Portuguese goalkeeper, who tips it over the top of the crossbar with one hand.
28'
Gneki breaks away down the left wing for Apollon but ends up being dispossessed by Stranzl near the byline, resulting in a corner for the visitors, which is quickly followed by another. The first is easily dealt with by Gladbach defence but the second finds the Ivorian striker, but his headed effort is weak and it ends up bouncing harmlessly past the near post.
26'
Gullon brings down Hrgota just outside of the Apollon penalty area and the hosts are awarded a free kick in a very dangerous position. Nordtveit fires a rocket of a shot from the set-piece but his effort ends up clearing the crossbar by a few inches.
24'
Nordtveit picks up a misplaced pass near the halfway line and sends a lovely long ball forward into the path of Hazard, who then wins Gladbach a corner. The resulting set-piece is whipped into the heart of the box but Merkis is able to head it away from danger.
22'
It's all Gladbach at the moment, and, even though the German side are still only one goal ahead, the Apollon defence are finding it extremely hard to deal with the pace and trickery on show in the final third of the pitch.
20'
Robert and Nordtveit clash in the middle of the pitch as they battle for a misplaced pass, leaving the former in a heap on the floor after receiving a nasty knock on the leg. It looks as if he is going to be able to continue, however.
19'
Gneki beats Jantschke on the right hand side of the Gladbach penalty area and sends a bouncing cross into the penalty area, but it's fired in too early and fails to find a white and blue shirt.
17'
Hazard embarks on a marauding run forward that looks as if it is going to tear the Apollon defence in two, but Angeli is just about able to dispossess him at the last moment on the edge of the box.
15'
Gladbach lose possession in the middle of the pitch and Apollon break away on a swift counter-attack, but Xhaka is there to cut out the danger before the visitors are able to get near to the penalty area.
13'
Gladbach break forward again, and this time the ball ends up with Xhaka 30 yards out. The Swiss midfielder sets himself up before unleashing a curling long-range effort that goes flying well over the top of the crossbar.
11'
I. Traoré has scored a goal for Borussia M'gladbach! Assist by B. Hrgota.
GOAL! Gladbach take the lead after terrible defending by Apollon! An awful pass from Lopez near the byline gifts the ball to Wendt, who then calmly tees up Traore to fire the ball into the back of the net with ease.
9'
Great play by Gladbach! Hrgota bursts down the left wing and sends a lovely pass into the path of Kruse, who is unmarked on the edge of the box. The German striker fires the ball first time and forces Vale into making a good diving save.
7'
A long ball is sent forward from midway inside the Apollon half of the pitch by Mulder with Gneki its intended target, but it's overhit and is only able to find the hands of Sommer.
5'
After four minutes of almost constant Gladbach possession, Apollon win the ball and push forward on their first attack of the game. It reaches Sangoy, who darts through the middle of the pitch before shooting from 25 yards out, but his effort is poor and it flies well wide of the goal.
3'
The hosts immediately push forward and enjoy a lengthy spell of good possession. Traore picks up the ball on the right wing and cuts inside before firing a low shot from the edge of the penalty area, but it's easily saved by Vale.
1'
And we're off! Gladbach get us underway, kicking from left to right.
Good evening and welcome to our live text commentary of today's Europa League group stage clash between Borussia Monchengladbach and Apollon. My name is Ben Cullimore and I will be keeping you up to date with all of the action from Stadion im Borrussia-Park.
First, let's have a look at how the two sides will be lining up tonight...
Apollon substitutes: Grigore, Meriem, Hidi, Papoulis, Stylianou, Paulo, Rosa.
Borussia Monchengladbach have enjoyed a good start to the new season, winning four of their opening eight games, leaving them in second place in the Bundesliga table. The German side have also enjoyed an unbeaten start to their Europa League campaign, but they are all still searching for their first victory after drawing in both of their opening games. Tonight, coach Lucien Favre has decided to make two changes to the side that started their last Europa League clash against Zurich three weeks ago, with Traore and Wendt coming in to replace Dominguez and Hahn, who both drop to the substitutes' bench.
The two sides are making their way out onto the pitch, with just a few minutes to go until kick-off.
As for Apollon, they too sit in second place in their domestic league, but they head go into tonight's clash in second place in Group A, one point ahead of Borussia Monchengladbach thanks to a 3-2 win at home to Zurich in their opening group stage game. After losing 4-0 against Villarreal in their last European outing, Ioan Andone has, unsurprisingly, made five changes to the side that started that game, with Stylianou, Paulo, Vasiliou, Meriem and Papoulis all making way for Mulder, Angeli, Gullon, Gneki and Rezek.
HALF-TIME: BORUSSIA MONCHENGLADBACH 1-0 APOLLON
The hosts have ran riot during the first half, and if it wasn't for some truly fantastic goalkeeping from Vale, they could easily have scored two or three more goals. The vast majority of the game has been played deep inside the Apollon half of the pitch, where the visitors are struggling to deal with the pace and creativity of the Borussia Monchengladbach forward line. Traore has been absolutely brilliant so far, whilst Kruse and Hrgota have also caused the Cypriot side plenty of problems in front of goal. If it stays this way after the break, the hosts should comfortably win this.
The two teams are making their way back out onto the pitch ahead of the start of the second half. Gladbach have made one substitution during the break, with Raffael coming on for Kruse.
FULL-TIME: BORUSSIA MONCHENGLADBACH 5-0 APOLLON
In the end, there was only one way this game was going to finish, and that was with an emphatic win for a Borussia Monchengladbach side that dominated from start to finish. The Germans ran riot in every part of the pitch, causing their Cypriot opponents a plethora of problems. Traore, Hazard and Hrgota were fantastic in the final third of the pitch, whilst the Apollon front line never stood a chance against Stranzl and Jantschke, who remained strong and resolute in the centre of defence until the final whistle.
The win is Gladbach's first of the Europa League this season, and it sends them up to second place in Group A ahead of the next meeting between the two sides in two weeks' time. Apollon, meanwhile, drop to third, two points behind the Germans.
My name is Ben Cullimore and it's been an absolute pleasure describing the action to you this evening. Until next time, goodbye!
Commentary
More…