bundesliga

Rafael Borre strikes late as Eintracht Frankfurt squeeze past Greuther Fürth

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Rafael Borre scored a last-gasp winner for Eintracht Frankfurt to seal a 2-1 win away to Greuther Fürth on Sunday, capping an action-packed period of stoppage time in which the home side appeared to have rescued a point.

Fürth 1-2 Frankfurt
Goals: 0-1 Rode 75' (assist: Kamada), 1-1 Itten (90'+2), 1-2 Borre 90'+4 (assist: N'Dicka)

Fürth may be bottom of the Bundesliga but they certainly did not play like it in an end-to-end first half in which they had more possession (63 per cent), more corners (four to Frankfurt’s zero) and more shots (seven to two) than their guests. Indeed, all that was lacking was a killer instinct in the final third from the chances that came their way just before the interval: Cedric Itten’s acrobatic overhead kick flew over the bar and Branimir Hrgota found the side netting with a neat turn and shot inside the box.

If Frankfurt had been somewhat harmless in attack in the first 45 minutes, that all changed after the break. Jesper Lindstrom served notice of their intent with a fierce drive from distance that goalkeeper Marius Funk did well to paw clear. That was soon followed by efforts from Djibril Sow, Filip Kostic and Kristijan Jakic before Almamy Toure arrowed a rasping shot over the bar as the visitors refused to release their stranglehold on the match. Their pressure eventually told in the 75th minute when Daichi Kamada pounced on a loose ball in the Fürth defence to tee up Rode, who swept home from near the penalty spot. Frankfurt looked on course for the win until deep into stoppage time when Itten prodded over the line from close range, but there was more drama to follow as Rafael Borre slid in at the far post to snatch all three points for the Eagles to lift them to 12th in the standings.

 

Match stats

  • Rode's goal was his first of the season and first in the Bundesliga since 25 September 2020 in a 3-1 win away to Hertha Berlin.
  • Kamada provided his first Bundesliga assist of the campaign.
  • Itten found the net for the second time this season, having previously been on target in the 3-1 defeat to Bayern Munich on Matchday 6.
  • Borre likewise scored his second league goal of 2021/22, also his first since Matchday 6.
  • No side has ever had fewer points at this stage of a season in Bundesliga history than Fürth.
  • Fürth are still yet to win a home game across their two campaigns in the Bundesliga (D5, L17).

Watch: Chandler: "An unbelievable game"

Line-ups

Fürth: Funk - Meyerhöfer, Sarpei, Griesbeck, Willems (Itter 76') - Seguin (Fein 83'), Christiansen, Green (Tillman 73') - Leweling - Itten, Hrgota (c)
Unused subs: Schaffran, Asta, Barry
Out: Bauer (not included), Burchert (not included), Hoogma (knee), Jung (knee), Ngankam (knee), Viergever (ankle)
Coach: Stefan Leitl

Frankfurt: Trapp - Tuta, Hinteregger (c), N'Dicka - Durm (Toure 46', Chandler 89'), Sow (Rode 72'), Jakic, Kostic - Lindström (Ache 71'), Kamada (Ilsanker 89') - Borre
Unused subs: Ramaj, Hasebe, Hauge, Lammers
Out: Hrustic (ankle), Lenz (thigh), Paciencia (thigh)
Coach: Oliver Glasner 

Watch: Hrgota: "Maybe the football god will change things for us"