Eagles sign off with a win

Goals from Sebastian Rode, André Silva and Bas Dost put Eintracht 3-0 up after 52 minutes before the visitors, whose relegation was already confirmed, struck back twice to reduce the deficit. However, the hosts held on and finish the campaign in ninth position.

Personnel: Same front two but changes elsewhere

Head coach Adi Hütter rotated for the final game of the campaign, making five changes in total as Kevin Trapp, David Abraham, Danny da Costa, Dominik Kohr and Daichi Kamada were all recalled to the side. As promised by Hütter, departing trio Marco Russ, Gelson Fernandes and Jonathan de Guzman were named on the bench, along with fit-again Goncalo Paciencia.

First half: Efficient Eagles

The Eagles put their opponents under pressure early on and took the lead on nine minutes through a collector’s item from Rode. After two Paderborn players went for the same ball, it fell nicely to the Eintracht midfielder, who curled home on the half-volley from just outside the area. The game quietened down after that but the visitors did have a handful of opportunities, with Abdelhamid Sabiri and Mohamed Dräger both spurning decent openings.

Eintracht, in contrast, took their chances when they came and doubled their lead on 33 minutes, Silva tapping in after some nice interplay between Da Costa and Kamada for his eighth goal since the restart.

Second half: Paderborn fight back

Hütter’s men continued to play freely after the break and extended their lead seven minutes in, when Kohr’s cut-back was met by a firm finish from Dost, who bagged his third goal in three starts. Just three minutes later, however, Paderborn pulled one back when the Eagles failed to clear and Dräger popped up at the far post to score.

The busy Kohr went close to getting on the scoresheet himself in the 68th minute, but his powerful shot from close range was too central and pushed away by Leopold Zingerle. Paderborn then reduced the deficit to just one, a long ball over the top releasing Sven Michel, who slotted past Trapp. The visitors thought they had completed the comeback deep into added time, but Eintracht were relieved to see the assistant’s flag and hear the final whistle.

Summary: Long season ends on a high

Given that this was their 54th competitive match of the season – no German side have played more – it’s understandable that the Eagles flagged towards the end of this one after a good first-half display. Nevertheless, they held on for the three points and ninth place in the table, and can now enjoy a well-earned four-week break.

SGE line-up

Trapp - Abraham, Hinteregger, Ndicka - Da Costa, Kohr (De Guzman 78’), Rode, Kostic - Kamada - Silva (Sow 66’), Dost (Paciencia 78’)

Goals

1-0 Rode (9’)
2-0 Silva (33’)
3-0 Dost (52’)
3-1 Dräger (55’)
3-2 Michel (75’)