Eagles denied victory by late equaliser in Sinsheim

Eintracht Frankfurt maintained their unbeaten run with a 1-1 draw against TSG Hoffenheim. A late equaliser cancelled out Kevin Prince Boateng’s magnificent opener from long range.

For a long time it looked like Prince Boateng’s long-range rocket would be enough for a first win at Hoffenheim since 2012. However, Mark Uth's stoppage-time equaliser denied the Eagles what would have been a deserved victory.

Gacinovic preferred to Hasebe

While Gelson Fernandes and Danny da Costa are on the comeback trail, Jonathan de Guzman suffered a painful shoulder injury during the international break and will be out for the rest of the year. Marco Russ also missed this match due to an Achilles problem. There was just one change from the side that started against Bremen, with Mijat Gacinovic replacing Makoto Hasebe in a 3-5-2 formation.

Eintracht take early lead

Hoffenheim started on the front foot and had the first half-chance of the game with a header from Uth, before Sandro Wagner tested Lukas Hradecky with a low shot in the ninth minute. However, it was the Eagles who took the lead in the 13th minute. Lukas Rupp intercepted Sébastien Haller’s cross into the centre, but Boateng pounced on his attempted clearance and hammered the ball into the top corner from outside the area. The hosts briefly responded but Wagner’s effort sailed narrowly wide of the right post, much to SGE’s relief. At the other end, Marc Stendera (29’) and Gacinovic (38’) had good opportunities but were unable to find the net.

Late heartache

Hoffenheim increased the pressure in the second half, while Eintracht defended deep, closed down the spaces and looked to play on the counter. Just before the 70-minute mark, Luka Jovic came on for Haller and the change almost paid dividends when he and Ante Rebic combined, with the latter firing just over the bar. Rebic went close again just a few minutes later but this time he was denied from close range by a superb reflex save by Oliver Baumann. Aside from those openings, however, Hoffenheim dominated as the white shirts did everything they could to protect the lead. They held on until the first minute of stoppage time when Uth netted the gut-wrenching equaliser, although the goal originated from a disputable free-kick after Jovic was adjudged to have committed a foul. Nevertheless, it was a respectable result given the quality of the opposition.

Six league games unbeaten

In the end Hoffenheim managed to score a last-gasp equaliser against a valiant SGE, who sat back too deep in the second half and consequently only took a point back home to extend Eintracht's unbeaten run to six Bundesliga games.