FIRST TEAM

03/10/2024

Ten-man TSG lose in Frankfurt

TSG Hoffenheim fell to a 3-1 (1-1) defeat at Eintracht Frankfurt. TSG had taken the lead in the sixth minute when John Anthony Brooks got his head on the end of Anton Stach's cross from a corner. Fifteen minutes later, the goalscorer was again in the spotlight, but this time for all the wrong reasons when he fouled Omar Marmoush as the last man and was sent off in the 22nd minute. Eintracht ratcheted up the pressure and equalised through Robin Koch on 32 minutes. Shortly after the sides changed ends, Junior Dina Ebimbe gave Frankfurt the lead in the 50th minute. SGE remained the dominant team and increased their lead thanks to a Mario Götze goal in the 64th minute. Ozan Kabak also saw red after his second yellow card of the game, so TSG had to finish the game with just nine men on the pitch.

Line-ups

Head coach Pellegrino Matarazzo made four changes to the starting line-up from the 2-1 victory over Bremen. Pavel Kadeřábek and Marius Bülter were both suspended, and were replaced by Kevin Akpoguma and Stanley Nsoki, while Umut Tohumcu was withdrawn shortly before the game due to an ankle injury, so Finn Becker took his place in the starting line-up. Andrej Kramarić started in place of Wout Weghorst in the fourth of the changes.

The scenario

A clash between two sides next to each other in the table: heading into the game, TSG were seventh on 33 points, while Frankfurt were four points and one place above them in sixth.

Moment of the match

John Anthony Brooks' sending off in the 22nd minute meant SGE were able to apply constant pressure, which soon led to the equaliser. Outnumbered, TSG defended passionately, but could not keep the strong Eintracht side at bay.

Number of the game: 248

In 248 Bundesliga matches, John Anthony Brooks had never been sent off – even for two yellow cards. Today, he saw his first red card in the top tier.

Debut of the game

Tim Drexler came on for Anton Stach in the 72nd minute to celebrate his Bundesliga debut. Congratulations, Tim!

Outlook

Next weekend, TSG Hoffenheim will play host to VfB Stuttgart. Kick-off in the PreZero Arena is at 18:30 CET on Saturday.

Summary

Line-ups:

Eintracht Frankfurt: Trapp – Tuta, Koch, Pacho – Dina Ebimbe (Ekitike, 72), Skhiri (Hasebe, 85), Larsson (Van de Beek, 72), Nkounkou – Götze (Chandler, 85), Chaibi (Knauff, 42) – Marmoush

TSG Hoffenheim: Baumann – Akpoguma, Ozan Kabak, Brooks, Nsoki (Jurásek, 55) – Becker (Bischof, 85), Grillitsch (Adams, 85), Stach (Drexler. 72) – Kramarić (Conté, 72) – Bebou, Beier

Goals: 0-1 Brooks (6), 1-1 Koch (32), 2-1 Dina Ebimbe (50), 3-1 Götze (64)

Red cards: Brooks (straight red, 22), Ozan Kabak (second yellow, 78)

Match highlights

3. Min.

Dina Ebimbe denied by Baumann

Frankfurt have the first chance of the game. Dina Ebimbe is played through after a one-two down the right wing, then cuts into the middle and gets off a left-footed shot, but Baumann reacts quickly and makes the save.

6. Min.

Brooks gives TSG the lead!

Stach floats a corner into the box, where Brooks rises highest and heads home to give TSG an early 1-0 lead!

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21. Min.

Brooks sees red

Marmoush is through, and Brooks is forced to take drastic action to stop him and brings him down. Unfortunately, that is a red card.

32. Min.

Koch scores the equaliser

It had been coming. TSG fail to clear their lines properly, and the ball finds its way to Marmoush, who cuts it back to Koch. The centre-back fires a good finish into the bottom-right corner from 16 metres out.

45 + 1. Min.

Götze misses a sitter

That had to be the lead for Frankfurt. Skhiri plays a superb pass to Ebimbe, who finds Götze completely on his own in the middle. The 2014 World Cup winner flashes his shot against the post from just five metres out.

50. Min.

Ebimbe scores

Götze is given far too much time on the edge of the penalty area, and chips the ball into the middle, where Ebimbe heads home.

63. Min.

A great chance to equalise

That could have been it! Beier leaves Pacho standing then finds Grillitsch's run forward, but Ebimbe does enough to put the TSG man off and Grillitsch can't find the net.

64. Min.

Frankfurt score again

Frankfurt take advantage at the other end. Knauff is sent through down the left and cuts it back to the far post, where Götze can apply the finish in space.