Meyer brace breaks HSV hearts in Frankfurt
Two goals either side of half time by the former HSV striker Alex Meyer, were his former club's downfall in front of a sell out crowd of 51,500 in the Commerzbank-Arena in Frankfurt on Saturday afternoon. The game ended in a 1-2 defeat for the visitors which sent them down to 8th place in the Bundesliga table. They could drop even further tomorrow, as the teams below them play their games.
Good start but early setback...
The huge crowd saw the visitors make the brighter start, but within 8 minutes, their keeper Rost was picking the ball out of his own net, as Atouba allowed Weissenberger far too much room following a long pass by Streit. The Austrian international had plenty of time to lay the ball of for the advancing Meyer, who easily fired the ball home from the edge of the area with the HSV defence at sixes and sevens (8.).
Angry Atouba lucky to stay on
HSV and especially Atouba simply couldn't settle down. The Cameroon defender let Streit breeze past him and force a timely save by Rost (9.) -, then moments later, the duo clashed to the left of the HSV penalty area. Streit seemed to have hold of Atouba in the groin area, and the HSV defender appeared to knock his opponent to the ground as he lashed out with his elbow. The match referee Gräfe was unsighted so there was no card shown. Three minutes later, a de Jong header forced home keeper Pröll into a stunning reflex save. At the other end, Kompany cleared a Weissenberger lob off the line with Rost well beaten
(29.). All in all it was a hectic opening half hour!
Harmless front line
HSV made life difficult for themselves as they failed to thread the ball through to their forwards. Castelen and Olic were as good as out of work down both wings. Zidan was also a sad figure, unable to physically compete with the burly Frankfurt defenders. The Egyptian said on Thursday that he was not 100% fit after his injury, and it showed in Frankfurt. The home side mounted a couple of counter attacks which came to nothing. Then HSV lost Kompany to what looked like an adductor injury. Stevens brought on Reinhardt just before half time. Eintracht were well worth their slender lead at the break, because HSV made so many mistakes and Frankfurt had created more chances.
Frankfurt hit a post
Frankfurt had the first chance of the second half and what a chance it was! The HSV defence defended sloppily, allowing Spycher too much room to move in. He moved unchallenged into the middle before unleashing a fierce shot which hit a post (49.)! The visitors tried their luck with a couple of weak long distance shots (Zidan, 53.; Castelen, 56.), but it took until the 67th minute for them to really threaten, as de Jong headed wide of target again.
HSV equalise only to concede a late sucker punch
Shortly afterwards, Atouba was once again up to his tricks. The HSV defender appeared to stand on the foot of his former team mate Mahdavikia for several seconds, and the referee failed to react (74.). Niggly fouls became the name of the game which helped the home side more than the visitors. the ref blew his whistle for a penalty to HSV, after Kyrgiakos was all over Reinhardt at a van der Vaart free kick- The HSV skipper converted the spot kick and ran to the massed HSV fans to celebrate.
Funkel was so annoyed with the penalty decision that he was banished to the stands. He needn't have worried though, because more sloppy defending by HSV allowed Meyer to fire home a superb volley from 20 metres out with Rost looking on in admiration. On the balance of play Frankfurt were worthy of their victory, and it is back to the drawing board for HSV, who play in the UEFA Cup in Bulgaria on Tuesday, before they entertain Nürnberg in the Bundesliga the following Saturday.
Match details:
Eintracht Frankfurt
röll - Mahdavikia, Russ, Kyrgiakos, Spycher - Inamoto, M. Fink - A. Streit, A. Meier, Weissenberger - Thurk
HSV: F. Rost - J. Boateng, Kompany, Mathijsen, Atouba - Jarolim, de Jong - Castelen, Olic - van der Vaart - Zidan
Goals: 1-0: Meyer (8.), 1-1 van der Vaart (82., pen.) 2-1 Meyer (87.)
Booked: Atouba de Jong J. Boateng Jarolim
Attendance: 51,500 (sold out)
Referee: M. Gräfe (Berlin)
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