Step-in Langerak relieved by BVB win
Borussia Dortmund's Mitchell Langerak admitted he was relieved to have left Bayer Leverkusen with the 3-2 win which put his team second in the Bundesliga after his 11th-hour call-up.
The 24-year-old Australian goalkeeper made his first German league appearance since April 2012 on Sunday after first-choice shot-stopper Roman Weidenfeller dropped out on the morning of the match with an infection.
Although Dortmund raced into a 2-0 lead after only eight minutes, Leverkusen roared back after the break to draw level with Langerak in the thick of the action.
He faced the brunt of Leverkusen's second-half onslaught as they equalised on 62 minutes after intense pressure.
Two goals in four minutes by Leverkusen's defensive midfielder Stefan Reinartz put Leverkusen level, before Poland striker Robert Lewandowski grabbed Dortmund's 63rd-minute winner, much to Langerak's relief.
"We were very happy to get away with the three points," said Langerak, who picked up a late second-half booking.
"It was a really hard game, we did well in the first-half, but we were under enormous pressure after the break.
"Leverkusen came out of the dressing room like they were on fire and even though we had expected it, we were still a bit surprised.
"Luckily, we didn't give up and we were really happy to come away with the result."
Despite moving up to second in the league after the victory, defending champions Dortmund are still 12 points behind Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich with 14 league games left this season.
The Australian has made a habit of being called upon for the big games, having come off the bench last May to help Dortmund win the German Cup final 5-2 against Bayern Munich in Berlin after an early injury to Weidenfeller.
Langerak is not in the Socceroos squad for Wednesday's international friendly against Romania in Malaga, Spain, with coach Holger Osieck preferring Fulham's Mark Schwarzer and Reading's Adam Federici as his goalkeepers.
