2024-04-19 20:41:16
There were whistles in Frankfurt in the first half. But after 90 minutes, Eintracht fans and players were cheering. Also thanks to the goal debut of a new addition.
Coach Dino Toppmöller’s team overturned a deficit within six minutes and secured three important points in the fight for the European Cup places.
Ruben Vargas gave Augsburg an early and deserved lead (13th). Frankfurt had a weak first half and received whistles from the stands. After the break, the SGE improved and was immediately rewarded. Fares Chaibi made it 1-1 in the 55th minute, before Hugo Ekitiké made it 2-1 with his first goal since joining from Paris St-Germain. Far into stoppage time, Omar Marmoush made everything clear with his goal into the empty goal (90th+6).
After an emotional week with the death of club legend Bernd Hölzenbein, Eintracht ended the sporting crisis with four Bundesliga games without a win. Success in the European duel is particularly important in the race for sixth place because Frankfurt still plays against Bayern, Leverkusen and Leipzig in the remaining weeks.
Augsburg had previously won five out of seven games and could have overtaken Eintracht with a win by two goals. If semi-finalist Borussia Dortmund wins the Champions League and only finishes fifth in the league, sixth place could even be enough for participation in the premier class. International participation guarantees sixth place in any case.
“There is a lot of sadness over this club”
The evening began with emotional moments when Eintracht remembered club veteran Hölzenbein before kick-off. “There has been a lot of sadness over this club since Monday. The sadness is particularly great for the people who stand next to me,” said board spokesman Axel Hellmann, who stood on the lawn next to Hölzenbein’s wife Jutta and their two children. A funeral service for the 1974 world champion, who died at the age of 78, will take place in the Frankfurt stadium on Sunday a week from now (4 p.m.).
Eintracht coach Toppmöller announced before the groundbreaking European duel that he wanted to achieve the victory for “Holz” that he had been longing for for weeks. The Hessians started courageously and dominated the first few minutes. Omar Marmoush’s deflected shot (11th) was the first chance, but the ball flew just wide of Finn Dahmen’s goal.
Almost in return, the in-form guests took advantage of Frankfurt’s first mistake mercilessly. Augsburg put left-back Philipp Max under pressure and then only needed two more stops to score the opening goal: Ermedin Demirovic served for Vargas, who finished dryly into the near corner. For Demirovic it was his 25th point scorer this season.
First whistles, then cheers
Eintracht remained offensive, but lacked precision, especially in the final third. The shots from Eric Junior Dina Ebimbe (15th), Chaibi (20th) and Buta (25th) caused danger, but not the equalizer. The first half was reminiscent of the previous home games against Union (0:0) and Bremen (1:1), when Eintracht only pressed at times and left too much in front of the goal. At halftime there were clearly audible whistles from the stands.
These were forgotten by the home fans at the latest when Chaibi only had to shoot from an unmarked position after the break following an assist from Dina Ebimbe. Considering the proportion of the game and the chances of scoring, the equalizer was the logical consequence. Frankfurt increased the pressure and rewarded themselves with Ekitiké: The Paris loanee shot precisely to the inside post, from where the ball jumped into the goal. It was the young striker’s first goal in his tenth Bundesliga appearance. Augsburg played offensively to equalize, but it never came. Marmoush then made everything clear for Frankfurt in injury time.