Eintracht Frankfurt wins against Darmstadt 98

Dhat it was going to be a game where emotions played a big role was to be expected given the circumstances. Almost every duel between Eintracht and the “Lilien” was completed with dedication during the ninety minutes, the bustling coaches were in no way inferior to the action with their permanent direction from the sidelines and in the stands the chorus of thousands of voices sparked an atmosphere which provided the appropriate background sound for the prestigious importance of the duel.

At the end of a varied Hesse derby, it was Eintracht that left the football field in their Frankfurt arena as a satisfied 4:2 winner. The success over the small Rhine-Main neighbor let them into the quarterfinals of the DFB Cup move in and the hopes continue to grow that great things will also be possible for them this season.

The fact that Darmstadt would approach the game from the role of challenger that evening corresponded to the realistic assessment of the balance of power. But the leaders of the second division performed with verve and did not attract attention with a form of restraint that could have played into the Bundesliga fifth’s card. The opposite was the case.

Team doctors asked

The initial phase initially went entirely to the taste of the favorite. Eintracht was already leading 1-0 in the 6th minute. Randal Kolo Muani had accelerated the ball in midfield, returning to him in a high arc in the penalty area via Rafael Borré and Tuta – and the French goal-getter foreheaded it over Marcel’s shoes for the lead; the keeper of the 98s had his hand on the ball, but could not prevent the impact. Almost immediately afterwards, Borré had the opportunity to extend his lead. But the Colombian, who replaced the injured Jesper Lindström, fell into reserve from eight meters in front of shoes and missed his target so clearly.

After that, the team doctors were asked to treat the injured Tuta from Frankfurt and Jannik Müller from Darmstadt, who was no less marked, after a collision; both had banged their heads together in a Eintracht attack and could only continue after a break of several minutes in treatment, each with a large bandage around the skull. It was thanks to Schuhen’s quick reactions that Frankfurt didn’t pull further away: the goalkeeper fended off an attempt from on the line Mario Götze which was unlocked by Philipp Max.

A Darmstadt effective hit

Not everything went well from the point of view of the coach’s team Oliver Glasner according to plan (23rd). After the first signs of wobbles on the defensive and Evan Ndicka in particular had constant problems restricting the offensive urge of the physically similarly robust Phillip Tietz, a mishap followed between the two Eintracht veterans, which had consequences. A pass from Makoto Hasebe to Sebastian Rode jumped off the captain’s foot (when trying to open up quickly) – and the “lilies” switched quickly: Marvin Mehlem’s pass landed on Mathias Honsak, who overcame Trapp to equalize (29′).

It was an impact hit that had an unsettling effect in the surprised ranks of the Europa League champions. So it got even better for the underdog. Again it succeeded Rode not to ensure orderly conditions in midfield and after losing the ball, the courageous Darmstadt team took the fickleness of the men in the red jerseys as a signal to switch to attack. Fabian Schnellhardt was now the pioneer, from whose preparatory work Honsak benefited again.

The Austrian, who had already scored two goals in the 4-0 win against Sandhausen in the second division, missed the shot with his left foot and an untenable low shot by Trapp to make it 2-1 for the “lilies”. And they could have further exploited Eintracht’s defensive confusion afterwards, but Tietz just barely slipped from a cross flourem over (36th). It was thanks to Max’s perception that Frankfurt were able to go into the break with a 2-2 lead. The new signing from Eindhoven managed to conquer the ball deep in the south Hesse half when pressing, his cross came via Götze to Borré, who kept his nerve in this scene and converted from close range in a center forward style (44th).

While Torsten Lieberknecht was satisfied with how courageously his team approached things and had a six-man duo with Schnellhardt and Tobias Kempe, which closed gaps at the back and at the same time acted forward-looking, Glasner reacted at half-time. He took out Ndicka and brought in Hrvoje Smolcic to strengthen his defence. The change paid off.

And on the other side, it was Kolo Muani’s next flash of inspiration, which illustrated his special class and made Eintracht and their supporters cheer again among the 49,500 visitors: the 24-year-old registered, previously staged by Borré, that Daichi Kamada was outside the sixteen-meter box positioned even better without defender pressure, headed the ball back – and the Japanese took the measure with a dropkick, so that although Schuhen was stuck, he was unable to prevent the impact to make it 3:2 (63rd). From then on, the Frankfurters defended this lead with the necessary seriousness before Kolo Muani’s next stroke put the final point to 4: 2 and finally brought them all one step closer to the cup final on June 3rd in Berlin.