IIn theory, Frankfurter Eintracht was well prepared for the game at SC Freiburg. The players knew exactly what they had to do to achieve the desired success. “You know how to win on the screen.” The exciting thing about football, however, is “that it is not decided with the joystick on the screen, but by the players on the pitch,” said Eintracht coach Oliver Glasner two days ago said at the meeting in Freiburg. The focused professionals from Frankfurt passed the practical test with flying colors. In the third division of the Bundesliga, Eintracht prevailed on Sunday with a surprise win and a solid team performance 2-0. Jesper Lindström and Filip Kostic scored the goals (34th and 43rd minutes) for Hessen.
After nine unbeaten home games, Freiburg suffered their first defeat in the new arena. With Christian Streich in the coaching bench, the Breisgauers also gave their first home game against Hessen after three wins and four draws. Eintracht, which now has 15 points, gained air in the relegation battle with their third win of the season as the new eleventh place in the table. It is now five points ahead of relegation rank 16, which VfB Stuttgart occupies. The 2-1 victory of Augsburg (also twelve points) over Bayern Munich is even closer in the table cellar.
Freiburg, the league’s surprise team, has so far had the best season in the club’s history. With only eleven goals they have the best defense in the league. The Frankfurters, on the other hand, only managed twelve goals before the Freiburg game, which was the third worst value in the league until then. The Eintracht storm in Breisgau was at the forefront of Rafael Borré. The Colombian went on a sporting trip around the world again during the international break. Only: “Rafael was probably most annoyed that he was only allowed to play ten minutes during all the stressful travel,” said Glasner.
The injured Martin Hinteregger (hit on the ankle) was not part of the game in Freiburg. “He was in a lot of pain,” said Glasner. The Austrian should start training again this Monday. Tuta, Makoto Hasebe, who wants to decide in April of next year whether he will end his active career or have another year of play, and Evan Ndicka formed the three-way defense chain. Captain Sebastian Rode first took a seat on the bench before coming on for Djibril Sow after 74 minutes of play.
The first chance (11th minute) for Frankfurt was Lindström, who failed from a promising position to goalkeeper Mark Flekken. In the first 20 minutes, Eintracht had Freiburg well under control. Frankfurt goalkeeper Kevin Trapp had to attack for the first time after 18 minutes when a Vincenzo Grifo header did not cause him any problems. The shot from Lucas Höler put Trapp to the test shortly afterwards. In a flank shot (25th) by Grifo, Trapp was only able to fend off the ball to the side and was lucky that no Freiburg man was there.
After half an hour, the unity built up more pressure. And Lindström took advantage of the opportunity to 1-0 (34th) with a new final strength, the Dane benefited with a little luck from an unintentional pass from Freiburg’s Lukas Kübler. A free kick from Filip Kostic, which was intended as a cross, landed nine minutes later to 2-0 in the SC goal. Kostic duped Flekken with his third goal of the season. The Hessians were more consistent in exploiting opportunities.
Mo. – Fr. at 4 p.m.; Sa. – So. at 6 p.m.
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In the 50th minute, Freiburg’s Nicolas Höfler was unlucky because his header hit the post of the Eintracht goal. Six minutes later, Lindström missed his second goal. In this scene he picked up on his well-known weakness. Too often he loses his nerve in front of the opposing goal. Daichi Kamada was also unable to increase to 3-0 in the now fast-paced game. Not for the first time, the Japanese lacked the necessary determination. The inadequacies of the Frankfurt team in exploiting the goal chances did not play a major role this time. Because with skill and above all great fighting spirit, the cleverly playing Eintracht consistently defended their lead and was happy about their next success against a favorite. The previously very fickle Hessen are now hoping for an initial spark in the Bundesliga for more lasting success.
A demanding program awaits the Frankfurters in the coming weeks until the short winter break. In this order you will meet Union Berlin, Hoffenheim, Leverkusen, Gladbach and Mainz. These are all teams from the top 10. The Berliners, the Eintracht opponents on Sunday from 3:30 p.m., are on course for the Europa League. Glasner will meticulously prepare his team for the difficult tasks. “But one thing is theory, the other is practice,” says the head coach. His staff must be measured against the deeds on the pitch. And that worked well in Freiburg.
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