Eintracht leave it late again | OneFootball

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Eintracht Frankfurt

·28 November 2021

Eintracht leave it late again

Article image:Eintracht leave it late again

Evan Ndicka’s last-gasp header earned the Eagles a deserved 2-1 victory at home to Union Berlin on Sunday.

A rare Djibril Sow goal gave Eintracht a deserved lead midway through the first half, but Max Kruse’s penalty just after the hour mark levelled the scores. Undeterred, the Eagles kept pushing forward and got their just rewards five minutes into second-half stoppage time, when Ndicka nodded Filip Kostic’s cross into the far corner to earn Oliver Glasner’s side a third successive Bundesliga victory.


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No personnel changes

Head coach Glasner fielded an unchanged team for the third match in succession. Goncalo Paciencia was named on the bench after salvaging a point for the Eagles at home to Royal Antwerp in the Europa League on Thursday, while Martin Hinteregger was also back among the substitutes after recovering from an ankle injury.

Sow stunner breaks deadlock

There were no fewer than 13 goals in the two league meetings between Eintracht and Union last season, and the ball was in the net inside the opening five minutes here: Timothy Chandler’s defence-splitting pass was steered into the far corner by Rafael Borré, but the Colombian mistimed his run ever so slightly and the goal was ruled out for offside.

When the opener did arrive, it came from an unlikely source. Kostic’s corner was cleared to the edge of the box and into the path of Sow, who sent a magnificent controlled finish into the top corner for his first Eintracht goal in over two years. Daichi Kamada’s header from Kostic’s delivery struck the crossbar soon afterwards, before Kristijan Jakic powered another header just wide of the far post. Borré also spurned a promising opportunity to double the Eagles’ lead, firing over the bar from yet another Kostic cross.

Ndicka sends Eagles into ecstasy

The opportunities dried up a little early in the second half but Kevin Trapp had little to do until the hour mark, when Union Berlin were awarded a penalty for Ndicka’s foul on Taiwo Awoniyi. Up stepped Kruse, who sent Trapp the wrong way to put the visitors back on level terms.

Paciencia almost restored Eintracht’s advantage moments after replacing Borré midway through the second half, but the Portuguese was denied from close range by Union goalkeeper Andreas Luthe. The Eagles never gave up, though, and Glasner’s side got their just rewards when Ndicka nodded another trademark Kostic cross into the far corner to lift the hosts up to 12th in the table.

Summary: Eagles leave it late again

Glasner’s side were by far the better team in the first half, but they struggled to maintain their energy levels in the second as Union clawed their way back into the game. As ever, though, Eintracht showed tremendous character and resolve to keep going until the very end – and eventually got the goal their efforts deserved.

SGE line-up

Trapp – Tuta, Hasebe, Ndicka – Chandler, Jakic, Sow, Kostic – Lindström (Ache 77’), Kamada – Borré (Paciencia 68’)

Goals

1-0  Sow (22’)

1-1 Kruse (62’ pen)

2-1 Ndicka (90+5’)

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