First Team

Another draw

VfL conceded a late equaliser in a 2-2 draw at Eintracht Frankfurt.

It wasn’t to be yet again. Despite leading twice in Frankfurt, the Wolves couldn’t hold on for the three points as their winless run extended to eight games. The hosts’ second equaliser was scored in stoppage time by ex-Wolfsburg man Omar Marmoush, after Maxence Lacroix (2’) and January signing Kevin Behrens (36’) had put Niko Kovac’s men in front either side of Philipp Max’s goal (14’). VfL have now shared the points in six of their last seven matches.

Matchday 24 sees the Green-and-Whites host VfB Stuttgart on home turf next Saturday, 3 March (kick-off 18:30 CET).

Goals

  • 0-1 Lacroix (2’): What a great start by the Wolves! Following their first corner, Arnold’s powerful volley from distance hits the inside of the right post. VfL keep the move alive and Lacroix heads in at the far post from Jonas Wind’s left-wing cross.
     
  • 1-1 Max (14’): The hosts respond quickly on the counter, with new signing Hugo Ekitike laying the ball off in the penalty area to Max, whose low shot beats Koen Casteels in the VfL goal.
     
  • 1-2 Behrens (36’): Behrens nets his first goal in a green and white shirt, rising high to meet Joakim Maehle’s delightful cross from the left and place a header into the right corner.
     
  • 2-2 Marmoush (90’+2): Unbelievable! The Wolves are punished for sitting back in the closing minutes, and it’s none other than ex-Wolf Marmoush who receives the ball – in SGE’s only noteworthy attack of the second half – and thumps it into the net with his left foot.

Reaction

Niko Kovac: “We saw a good Bundesliga game today with a lot of advantages for us in the first half. In the second half, too, we wanted to score a third goal but gave away too many easy balls, which made it fairly easy for Eintracht to defend. Then the goal for 2-2 came from a chance which was slightly worse than the one for Knauff before. Overall the result is fair and deserved.”

Dino Toppmöller: “We’re coming out of a rather difficult period and are glad that we showed a reaction after such a nightmare start. We deserved to equalise and then actually had a good spell with a good energy, where we won a lot of duels and had a lot of situations around the box. However, then we got a bit sleepy again and conceded from a set piece. It didn’t feel like we deserved that for the effort we’d put in. At half-time, we said that we have to keep going and need more of that aggression. After the long interruption, not much happened for a long while and then towards the end, the team showed character and battled back. That was incredible.”

Line-ups and stats

Eintracht Frankfurt: Trapp – Tuta, Koch, Pacho – Buta (90‘ Baum), Dina Ebimbe, van de Beek (67‘ Chaibi), Max (67‘ Nkounkou), Knauff (90‘ Chandler), Marmoush – Ekiteke (77‘ Bahoya)

Subs: Grahl (GK), Hasebe, Smolcic, M. Götze

VfL Wolfsburg: Casteels – Baku, Lacroix, Jenz, Maehle – Gerhardt, Arnold, Majer (72‘ Wimmer), Paredes, Wind (89‘ Vranckx) – Behrens (72‘ L. Nmecha)

Subs: Pervan (GK), Fischer, Zesiger, Svanberg, Cerny, Sarr

Goals: 0-1 Lacroix (2’), 1-1 Max (14’), 1-2 Behrens (36’), 2-2 Marmoush (90’ +2)

Yellow cards: Ekitike, Dina Ebimbe / Gerhardt

Referee: Daniel Schlager (Hügelsheim)

Attendance: 56,500 Zuschauende am Sonntagnachmittag im Deutsche-Bank-Park