Captain Sara Doorsoun said she felt a “tingling feeling” in the team before the game, and Eintracht should perform “with heart”. But the 4-1 win against MSV Duisburg on Tuesday evening required less passion than concentration – the Frankfurt women completed the task confidently in the quarter-finals of the DFB Women’s Cup.
Already at halftime, the favorites were leading 3-0 against the bottom team in the Bundesliga thanks to goals from Lisanne Gräwe, Lara Prašnikar and Nicole Anyomi. Despite Laura Freigang’s penalty miss and a goal for the “Zebras”, there was no tension afterwards; Shekiera Martinez added the fourth goal.
That evening, Lena Lotzen, co-coach of the German U-17 juniors, drew the lottery balls for the semi-finals. Frankfurt plays at German champions FC Bayern Munich on Easter weekend, March 30th or 31st. “It will be a really good game, very attractive for all neutral spectators,” said coach Niko Arnautis.
Break Wolfsburg’s dominance
Both teams meet twice within three weeks – the league game on Saturday at Brentanobad (1 p.m.) offers a foretaste of the cup semi-finals. The league leaders from Munich are ten points ahead of Eintracht. In order not to lose sight of the top duo – Wolfsburg is one point behind Bayern – Frankfurt has to win.
The first half of the season ended in a goalless draw; it was the first league game for the Bayern professionals in the Allianz Arena, which is otherwise reserved for men. Frankfurt’s last win against the champions was two and a half years ago, when Laura Freigang and Sjoeke Nüsken turned the game around to make it 3-2 in the final minutes.
The players from both teams know each other well; there were five Eintracht and four Bayern players in the national team’s squad. In an Instagram video from the German Football Association, Laura Freigang was recently asked about Bayern player Sydney Lohmann. Who is their favorite player? “Laura Freigang,” the Eintracht striker replies mischievously.
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Friendship will rest in the duels. Both teams want to break the cup dominance of VfL Wolfsburg, which has always triumphed in the last nine years and is favored in the semi-finals against SGS Essen. The last title holder that did not come from the Autostadt was 1. FFC Frankfurt in 2014 – the predecessor club of Eintracht Frauen. Their ambition is clear: “Our big goal is to get to the final and then win the cup,” said leader Doorsoun. Passion – the tingling sensation – will be necessary against Bayern.
