Florian Kainz’s penalty on the stroke of half-time gave Köln a narrow lead at the interval, but Dost netted his seventh league goal of the campaign in the second half to secure a share of the spoils for Adi Hütter’s men, who remain in the top half of the table.
Personnel: Rönnow in for Trapp
Frederik Rönnow was handed a rare start in goal in one of six changes to the team that beat Schalke in midweek. Martin Hinteregger started alongside Stefan Ilsanker and Evan Ndicka in a back three, with Timothy Chandler, Lucas Torró and Djibril Sow coming into midfield. Dost, who made the scoresheet in Eintracht’s last away game at Hertha Berlin, partnered in-form André Silva in attack.
First half: Eagles pay the penalty
Eintracht’s front two nearly combined to put Hütter’s side ahead inside five minutes, but Dost’s effort from Silva’s inch-perfect pass flew just wide of the near post. The Eagles continued to look the more likely scorers as the half wore on, with Sow stinging the palms of Timo Horn on the half-hour mark with a rasping long-range drive.
At the other end, Rönnow had precious little to do until five minutes before the break, when Mark Uth sent an audacious overhead kick straight into the arms of Eintracht’s Danish international goalkeeper. However, the Eagles found themselves behind at half-time after Sebastian Rode felled Uth inside the penalty area, allowing Kainz to fire the hosts ahead from the spot.
Second half: Points shared
Chances were few and far between at the beginning of the second half as the game developed into a midfield battle. Rönnow pulled off a fine save from Jhon Córdoba just before the hour mark, but it wouldn’t have counted as the Colombian was in an offside position.
Hinteregger appeared to have fired Eintracht level less than five minutes later, only for the goal to be disallowed for handball in the build-up. The Eagles were not to be denied, however, as Dost slotted home Sow’s low cross with 18 minutes left on the clock. Silva went close to snatching all three points for Eintracht in the closing stages, but the Portuguese failed to hit the target from a tight angle.
Summary: Eintracht primed for top-half finish
The Eagles created the better opportunities in Cologne and may be disappointed not to have claimed all three points. Europe may now be out of reach for Hütter’s men, but they remain on course to secure a top-half finish for the third season in a row.
SGE line-up
Rönnow - Ndicka, Ilsanker, Hinteregger - Chandler (da Costa 63’), Sow (de Guzman 80’), Torró, Rode (Kohr 64’), Kostic - Silva, Dost
Goals
1-0 Kainz (pen 45’)
1-1 Dost (72’)
