Late defeat for Union in Frankfurt

1. FC Union Berlin went down 1-2 at Eintracht Frankfurt following a 95th-minute winning goal from Evan N’Dicka.

The defender headed in at the death in stoppage time to secure a 2-1 win for Oliver Glasner’s team after Max Kruse had levelled the scores after 62 minutes. Kruse’s penalty was against the run of play but gave Union a chance of taking points on the road having gone behind to Djibril Sow’s first-half effort.

Göz Atın

Danilho’s New Deal

Union a Whisker Away From Three Points

Janik Haberer’s Deal Extended

Eintracht Frankfurt: Trapp; Tuta, Hasebe, N’Dicka; Chandler, Jakic, Sow, Kostic; Lindstrom (Ache 76), Kamada, Borre (Paciencia 67)

1. FC Union Berlin: Luthe; Trimmel, Knoche, Friedrich, Baumgartl, Oczipka (Gießelmann 90); Prömel, Haraguchi (Becker 58), Khedira (Ryerson 58); Kruse (Öztunali 76), Awoniyi (Voglsammer 76)

Bastian Oczipka was restored to the starting XI after Thursday’s exploits in Haifa, facing the club he made 167 appearances for in Frankfurt. Union looked to have the upper-hand on the away side with Taiwo Awoniyi running in behind the three-man Frankfurt defence but eventually outnumbered as he looked to pull the trigger inside the box. Oliver Glasner’s side had the ball in the net after six minutes when Rafael Borre fired home but referee Sascha Stegemann flagged correctly for offside. The home side headed into this game with a strong run of domestic form and consolidation of their top-spot in the Europa League group stage with a 2-2 draw at home to Antwerp. They had their tails up from the start and broke the Union resolve after 22 minutes. Djibril Sow steered a long-range shot from 25 yards into the top corner to put Frankfurt in the lead. Awoniyi tested Kevin Trapp two minutes later but it was a short glimpse for Urs Fischer’s men. Frankfurt looked in the mood and will feel they could have extended their advantage for the break. Daichi Yamada headed off the crossbar on 24 minutes and Kristijan Jakic headed wide from a corner kick before the half hour was out. Frankfurt’s main man Filip Kostic drove the home side forward on 35 minutes but the Köpenick club held firm until the turnaround.

Frankfurt’s high-tempo style continued into the second 45 minutes with Jesper Lindstrom passing up a golden chance for a goal after the restart. Thursday’s hero Julian Ryerson was introduced into the midfield, while Sheraldo Becker supported Awoniyi in the front two. The intensity returned to Union’s transitions and pressing, and the away side enjoyed their best part of the game. Despite the performance of the home side, Awoniyi was fouled on 61 minutes and Union earned a penalty kick. Max Kruse made no mistake from 12 yards and brought Union on level terms. After his previous run of last-minute goals, the last player Union wanted to see after 67 minutes was Eintracht Frankfurt striker Goncalo Paciencia. Frankfurt turned more direct and put the Union defence under immense pressure. Andreas Luthe pushed a shot clear from midfielder Jakic on 70 minutes as Union struggled to make things stick at the other end. Union turned to the bench for some energy – Levin Öztunali and Andreas Voglsammer came in for Awoniyi and Kruse. Voglsammer has been unfortunate in previous league games not to score and Kevin Trapp made a strong save against the Union number 9. Paciencia was marked closely by Marvin Friedrich and the two clashed inside the box with about a quarter of an hour to go. Friedrich stood his ground to defend the Frankfurt striker but there were strong claims from the home fans for a penalty kick. Substitute Ache crossed for Paciencia in the 90th minute but the finish was over Luthe’s bar. In the end, Frankfurt’s fresh legs would pay dividends at the Deutsche Bank Park as Union were unable to get the result over the line. A deep cross from Filip Kostic in the fifth minute of stoppage time was headed into the net by N’Dicka, which wrapped up the points for Glasner and Frankfurt.