Eagles strike late again | OneFootball

Eintracht Frankfurt drew 1-1 with 1. FC Köln at Deutsche Bank Park. Substitute Paxten Aaronson set up debutant Niels Nkounkou to equalise minutes after the Frenchman had entered the fray.

Florian Kainz’s penalty late in the first half had given Köln the lead against the run of play, and Eintracht continued to boss proceedings in the second period but were unable to find a way past a resolute defence. The Eagles pinned the visitors back in the closing stages, and were finally rewarded when Nkounkou found the bottom corner to preserve his team’s unbeaten start to the season under head coach Dino Toppmöller.

League debut for Larsson

Summer signing Hugo Larsson was handed his Bundesliga debut in one of two changes to the Eagles team that clinched a Europa Conference League group-stage berth with victory over Levksi Sofia. Philipp Max was also recalled to the side, with Aaronson joining recent signing Nkounkou on the bench. Kristijan Jakic was absent after suffering a concussion in Thursday’s 2-0 triumph over the Bulgarian outfit.

Kainz stuns Eagles

Neither Kevin Trapp nor Köln keeper Marvin Schwäbe had a great deal to do in a tentative opening to Sunday’s contest. Toppmöller’s charges dominated possession but struggled to carve out any openings until midway through the first period, when Éric Junior Dina Ebimbe cut inside from the left flank before shooting straight at Schwäbe from the edge of the penalty area.

Aurélio Buta had a shot blocked from a tight angle and the lively Dina Ebimbe blazed over the crossbar as Eintracht gradually began to apply pressure towards the end of the half. Dina Ebimbe had another attempt blocked by Julian Chabot not long afterwards, before Kainz converted from the spot – following Philipp Max’s foul on Eric Martel – to give the visitors a narrow half-time lead.

Nkounkou salvages point

There was much more urgency about Eintracht in the early stages of the second half – and they were unfortunate not to get back on level terms within minutes of the restart. Martel threw himself in the way of a goal-bound Omar Marmoush effort, before half-time substitute Jens Petter Hauge was thwarted by another lunging block by Chabot as Köln continued to cling on to their slender advantage.

Jessic Ngankam, who scored his third goal for the Eagles in Thursday’s European encounter, became the latest Eintracht player to be denied by Köln centre-back Chabot, who stuck out a right boot to deflect the substitute’s low effort wide of the target. The equaliser finally came three minutes from time, when Nkounkou collected Aaronson’s pass on the corner of the area before arrowing a low shot into the bottom left corner, sending the home fans into ecstasy.

SGE Line-up

Trapp – Tuta, Koch, Pacho – Buta (Aaronson 80’), Skhiri, Larsson (Rode 73’), Max (Hauge 46’) – Dina Ebimbe (Nkounkou 73’), Götze – Marmoush (Ngankam 67’)

Goals

0-1 Kainz (43’, pen) 1-1 Nkounkou (87’)