The Eagles recovered well after falling two goals behind in the opening six minutes. A brace from André Silva drew them level before the interval and they looked to have snatched the win when Bas Dost struck 11 minutes from time, but Max Kruse’s equaliser meant that SGE had to settle for a fourth straight draw.
Dost in for Barkok
Head coach Adi Hütter made one enforced change to his starting XI following the 1-1 draw at home to Leipzig. Aymen Barkok had to sit out following a positive COVID-19 test at the start of the week, so Dost returned to the side as Hütter reverted to a back three and a front two.
Silva inspires comeback
Eintracht suffered a slow start at the Stadion An der Alten Försterei. In just the second minute, Marcus Ingvartsen’s low ball into the box was spilled by Kevin Trapp and Robert Andrich bundled in the rebound. Moments later, Union doubled their lead from the penalty spot, Kruse sending Trapp the wrong way after Taiwo Awoniyi had been tripped by Martin Hinteregger. Things could have got worse for the Eagles had it not been for Trapp, who then denied Awoniyi before making a smart double save from a corner.
However, Hütter’s men gradually managed to settle into the game. Filip Kostic had their first real opportunity on 24 minutes when his volley was deflected wide by Dost, but the Eagles’ luck soon changed. In the 27th minute, Daichi Kamada’s low pass across goal looked like it had evaded everyone, but Silva managed to turn it in from a tight angle at the far post. Nine minutes later, the Portuguese striker completed the comeback, heading in from Kostic’s pinpoint free-kick for his seventh goal of the season. There was a lull in the action after that and the two sides went in level at the break – something that seemed unlikely after the first six minutes.
Eagles pegged back late on
The second half didn’t initially live up to the first in terms of entertainment and was more of a physical battle, although it was Eintracht who created the better chances. Dost’s header from Kostic’s cross was tipped behind by Union goalkeeper Andreas Luthe, before Silva stabbed the ball wide from another Kostic set-piece delivery.
Silva then came close to getting his hat-trick again in the 75th minute, but his effort from a tight angle was pushed away by Luthe. Instead, it was his strike partner Dost who gave Eintracht the lead. Kamada beat the last defender and showed good vision to square the ball to the Dutchman, who slotted in his fourth goal of the campaign. The joy was short-lived, though – Kruse restored parity with an excellent first-time shot from outside the area, and 3-3 is how it finished.
Summary: Eintracht show character in exhilarating match
On the one hand, Eintracht will be pleased that they once again showed the character to fight back after a bad start. On the other, there may be a tinge of disappointment given that they briefly led. A defeat would have been harsh on either team, though, who both produced a highly entertaining game.
SGE line-up
Trapp – Abraham, Hinteregger, Ndicka – Durm (da Costa 78’), Ilsanker, Sow (Rode 87’), Kostic – Kamada – Silva, Dost
Goals
1-0 Andrich (2’)
2-0 Kruse (pen. 6’)
2-1 Silva (27’)
2-2 Silva (37’)
2-3 Dost (79’)
3-3 Kruse (82’)
