Five days before the duel with FC Barcelona, Eintracht Frankfurt does not seem really ready. The zero number against Fürth testifies to offensive problems.
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Fürth’s Branimir Hrgota (r) is pinched by Frankfurt’s Filip Kostic (l) and Evan Ndicka. (Image: dpa)
(Photo: Sebastian Gollnow/dpa)
Frankfurt/Main – At the end of a long, atmospheric Bundesliga afternoon, nobody was in the mood for a party. Eintracht Frankfurt botched its sporting Barcelona dress rehearsal in the zero number against the last SpVgg Greuther Fürth.
For the promoted team from Franconia, winning a point in the Bundesliga became a minor matter because Marco Meyerhöfer injured his ankle badly at the end of the game. The defender was carried off the field with a stretcher, and the 50,500 spectators suddenly fell silent when the stadium was full – and then they weren’t really loud anymore.
“I’m happy with our performance, even though it was obviously a very expensive point,” said coach Stefan Leitl. Meyerhöfer’s opponent Jens Petter Hauge seemed emotionally distressed after the direct duel. Frankfurt’s captain Sebastian Rode said: “Jens Petter is inconsolable. I myself saw the foot in a not so nice position. That overshadows the game. There are not many winners today.”
Rode: “We are very disappointed”
Five days before the first leg against FC Barcelona, Eintracht was not only shocked but also sportingly disillusioned. “We really wanted to win. Especially against the bottom of the table at home you have to win. We’re very disappointed,” said Rode. Two important points were awarded in the fight for renewed international participation. Eintracht had the game in the wet and cold 2006 World Cup arena largely under control, but did not complete their attacks consistently enough.
Eintracht head coach Oliver Glasner was not happy with the earnings either. “We have to accept the 0-0 like that. We’re not satisfied with that, but it doesn’t throw us completely off course either,” said the Austrian, who didn’t want to blame his team too much. “The players accepted the game 100 percent. It’s not new that we find it difficult against well-organized opponents who don’t give us much space,” added Glasner.
Fürth goalkeeper as match winner
However, the Hessians did not want to draw too many conclusions for the home game against the top Spanish club. “It’s a completely different game today than on Thursday because Fürth is completely different from Barcelona,” Rode said. On Thursday (9:00 p.m.) the game will be played in Frankfurt first, before the second leg of the quarter-finals in the Europa League at Camp Nou on April 14. “I don’t think we will have 70 percent possession there,” Glasner noted. He hopes that all his players will follow FC Barcelona’s league game.
The match winner of the day was the Fürth goalkeeper Andreas Linde, who thwarted all the big chances of the hosts and thus gave the promoted team their second away point of the season. “He also held up brilliantly a few times,” praised Frankfurt’s Glasner. But the result on the day of Meyerhöfer’s serious injury was also of secondary importance for colleague Leitl. “The joy is clouded. At this point also get well soon to Marco Meyerhöfer. We hope that he will be healthy again soon,” said the 44-year-old Leitl.
© dpa-infocom, dpa:220402-99-771773/3
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