Eintracht Frankfurt continue their push for European football next season, having been eliminated from the current UEFA Champions League campaign at the hands of Napoli earlier this month. Oliver Glasner’s men sat sixth in the Bundesliga table ahead of the clash, while their opponents – VfL Bochum – held 14th place, five points clear of the relegation zone.
SGE: Trapp; Ndicka, Hasebe, Jakic; Max, Sow, Rode, Buta; Gotze, Borre; Kolo Muani
BOC: Riemann; Heintz, Masovic, Ordets, Stafilidis; Losilla; Stoger, Osterhage; Asano; Hofmann, Antwi-Adjei
Eintracht Frankfurt came close to opening the scoring at the Deutsche Bank Park early on, as Randal Kolo Muani flicked Philipp Max’s cross towards Rafael Borre – though the Colombian attacking midfielder was denied by Manuel Riemann.
Despite a strong start to the game by the Eagles, it was the visitors that opened the scoring in the 14th minute, as Takuma Asano fired home on the rebound after Kevin Trapp’s first effort was pushed away by Kevin Trapp.
VfL Bochum’s lead wouldn’t last all too long though, as Randal Kolo Muani sent a convincing penalty straight down the middle seven minutes later. The Frenchman was tripped inside the area by Ivan Ordets, but the referee spotted it and awarded the penalty – which he slotted home with power and precision.
Frankfurt continued to maintain control of the game for much of the remainder of the first half, though Bochum did come close again as Kevin Stoger attempted to play in Takuma Asano for his second goal of the evening. The Japanese forward lost his footing as he charged for the ball though, and the chance went missing for the underdogs.
Randal Kolo Muani sought to bag his second soon after the break, but the World Cup Winner’s header was directed straight into the arms of Manuel Riemann. As they had done in the opening forty-five minutes, Glasner’s side continued to dominate but they failed to really create any good goalscoring opportunities – bar another chance for Kolo Muani that was placed just wide of the post.
A dramatic final ten minutes saw Bochum presented with a fabulous chance to steal all three points, with a free-kick from the left flank towards the far post finding Anthony Losilla – but his header was send wayward, much to the relief of the Frankfurt faithful.
The Eagles felt they should have been awarded a penalty late on as Randal Kolo Muani whipped a cross into the box, but it struck Dominique Heintz’s arm. The referee decided not to award the hosts another penalty, and the game ended in a 1-1 draw.
It’s far from the result that Oliver Glasner’s side would have wanted ahead of the game, as they face competition from VfL Wolfsburg, Bayer Leverkusen and Mainz 05 for a chance at UEFA Europa Conference League qualification come the end of the season.
Leave a Reply