Head coach Dino Toppmöller kept faith with the team that won 1-0 at Leipzig in the first match of the year, meaning January signings Donny van de Beek and Sasa Kalajdzic were again named in the starting line-up. Captain Sebastian Rode was included in the squad for the first time since September having recovered from injury.
Third time lucky for Nkounkou
On a cold afternoon at the Merck-Stadion am Böllenfalltor, Eintracht made an energetic start and fashioned the first opportunity after just three minutes. From a corner the ball came to Niels Nkounkou, whose deflected shot from outside the area produced a good reaction from Darmstadt goalkeeper Marcel Schuhen. The second chance also fell to Nkounkou around ten minutes later when he broke away down the left, but he could only fire straight at Schuhen.
The Eagles continued to control the game but found openings hard to come by against bottom-of-the-table Darmstadt, who themselves offered little going forward. The visitors’ patience eventually paid off on 33 minutes, though, when Junior Dina Ebimbe broke forward down the right flank and cut the ball back to his compatriot Nkounkou, who this time beat Schuhen to bag his second goal in a Frankfurt shirt. Ansgar Knauff had a chance to double the lead a few minutes later after being played in by Kalajdzic but sent the ball rolling out of play.
Late heartbreak
Eintracht made the perfect start to the second half, making it 2-0 in the 51st minute with an almost identical move to the opening goal. Dina Ebimbe again found space on the right and cut back into the box to Kalajdzic, whose scuffed shot was turned in by Knauff. However, that goal seemed to spark the hosts into life and Kevin Trapp was forced into his first real save of the game moments later from Luca Pfeiffer’s effort.
The Germany goalkeeper was then hurt in a challenge with Pfeiffer, and that may have affected him when he gave the ball away and then let Julian Justvan’s shot through his legs on 64 minutes. Darmstadt were very much back in the game now and Frankfurt had a lot of defending to do. The game became more hectic in the closing stages and a goalmouth scramble from a corner ended with Lilies captain Fabian Holland blasting the ball just over the bar.
It looked like the Eagles were going to hang on for all three points, but in the fifth of seven added minutes, Tuta gave the ball away in his own half and substitute Tobias Kempe fed Christoph Klarer, who steered the ball in to spark wild celebrations among the home fans and ensure a first ever Bundesliga draw between the two Hesse rivals.
