Having fallen behind in the first half despite a good start to the match, Frankfurt showed an excellent reaction in the second period and claimed a deserved victory.
Zuber replaces Kostic
Adi Hütter made just one change from the side that started in last Friday’s 3-1 win at Hertha BSC. Steven Zuber replaced the injured Filip Kostic on the left, making his first Bundesliga start for Eintracht against his former club. New signing Markus Schubert took his place on the bench as the back-up goalkeeper.
Hoffenheim lead with first chance
Cheered on by a crowd of 8,000 at Deutsche Bank Park, the Eagles made a bright start to the game and didn’t allow Hoffenheim – who started the day in top spot – to get into their rhythm. Zuber and André Silva in particular linked up well early on, with the former creating two half-chances for the Portuguese striker, who then fired wide from Stefan Ilsanker’s chest-down.
Eintracht were not rewarded for a strong first 15 minutes, though, and fell behind against the run of play, when in-form Andrej Kramaric’s shot glanced off the head of David Abraham and looped past Kevin Trapp. That goal took the wind out of the Eagles’ sails somewhat, and they didn’t really threaten Oliver Baumann’s goal again before the interval. In fact, Kramaric could have doubled the visitors’ lead when he was played in, but Trapp came out to smother at the near post.
Second-half turnaround
Just as they did in the first, Eintracht started the second half on top. They eventually got a deserved equaliser in the 55th minute when Zuber found Dost in space in the penalty area with a brilliant ball, and the Dutchman’s pass was bundled in at the far post by Kamada.
The equaliser lifted the crowd and the players on the pitch as the contest became more open. Dost had a good chance to make it 2-1 in the 66th minute but was denied by a reflex save from Baumann, while at the other end, Martin Hinteregger was required to make a vital clearance. The winning goal arrived in the 71st minute: Kamada was the creator this time, waltzing his way through the defence before squaring the ball into the danger area. Silva couldn’t quite prod it over the line, but it fell to Dost, who was in the right place to slot in his fifth goal in seven Bundesliga appearances.
There was no sitting back from Eintracht, who looked more likely to score a third than Hoffenheim did to getting an equaliser. Touré did find the net in the 80th minute but it was ruled out for offside, while substitute Timothy Chandler fired over in stoppage time, but it finished 2-1.
Summary: Determination rewarded
Hütter wanted to see a reaction from his players at half-time and he got just that. The two goals epitomised the desire and fighting spirit shown by the home side, and they’ll enjoy looking at the league table tonight.
SGE line-up
Trapp – Abraham (Tuta 63’), Hasebe, Hinteregger - Touré, Ilsanker, Rode, Zuber (Barkok 87’) - Kamada (Chandler (87’) - Dost (Ache 80’), Silva
Goals
Kramaric 0-1 (18‘)
Kamada 1-1 (54‘)
Dost 2-1 (71‘)
