TSV Steinbach Haiger vs. FSV Frankfurt 2:1

FSV Frankfurt's long run of 14 consecutive unbeaten league matches came to an end last Saturday with a 1-0 defeat at 1.Göppinger SV. At the end of the first half of the season, the Bornheim club slipped from the top of the table to second place in the Regionalliga Südwest. Instead, the autumn championship went to TSG 1899 Hoffenheim U23. This Saturday, the Black & Blues travelled to TSV Steinbach Haiger for the first second-round match of the 2024/2025 season.

FSV head coach Tim Görner started with the same starting line-up as in the previous clash against 1. Göppinger SV. Less than 30 seconds had elapsed at the SIBRE Sports Centre on the Haarwasen before the Bornheim side took the lead after a counter attack and Lucas Hermes scored from close range to make it 0:1 from Steinbach's perspective. Frankfurt flourished and tried to extend their lead immediately after the first goal. In the opening quarter of an hour, Görner's team won several corners but failed to convert them accurately, leaving the home side in possession and trying to build up play and score the equaliser as quickly as possible. FSV dominated the first half, but head coach Hüsni Tahiri's home side managed to dictate the play for a moment and showed this in the visitors' penalty area, among other places. In the 32nd minute, Frankfurt keeper Justin Ospelt prevented a goal from being scored after he spread himself in front of a Steinbach player in the box. Just a short time later, Justin Steinkötter's shot from the left side of the penalty area hit the outside of the net. The Black & Blue's defenders did their job in the 45 minutes of the first half, standing compactly and making it difficult for their opponents to find a gap. Shortly before the half-time whistle, Ospelt reacted quickly and reflexively blocked a shot from the home side, preventing the 1:1 with this action as well. After 45 minutes of play, both teams went into half-time with FSV leading 1-0.

Immediately after the restart, the away team continued to attack diligently in the direction of Steinbach's goal. In the 48th minute, TSV goalkeeper Mike Dreier missed the shot towards the centre circle, goal scorer Cas Peters touched the ball with his foot, but the round leather went over the goal and out of play, followed by a goal kick for TSV. The hosts tried to build the game up again, but Bornheim did not rest and stayed close on the home side's heels. In the 59th minute, FSV countered again with Gwangin Lee, who instead of shooting on goal himself, passed the ball to Hermes, who ran parallel on the right and just missed the Haiger box. In the course of the second half, the home team became more and more self-confident and tackled harder. From the 65th minute onwards, the Central Hessians played dangerously in front of the Black & Blue's goal and almost scored the equaliser in a few actions. The spell was finally broken in the 74th minute when Steinbach's Steinkötter received the ball in front of the penalty area and converted from the second row into the shallow right-hand corner of the goal to equalise. Five minutes later, the committed hosts were again in the FSV penalty area and scored through Ertan Hajdaraj to give Frankfurt a 1-2 lead. The team from the Lahn-Dill district turned the game on its head, FSV tried to mount a comeback, but this was prevented by the defence at the other end. In stoppage time, Bornheim came again, Tim Latteier received the ball after several passes, took a shot in front of the penalty area line and missed the TSV box. After three minutes of stoppage time, the controversial match came to an end in front of 1,126 spectators at the SIBRE Sports Centre.

Despite a dream start, FSV Frankfurt lost 2-1 to TSV Steinbach Haiger and thus lost their third game of the season. The Black & Blues remain in second place in the table, but league leaders TSG Hoffenheim II won 4:1 at FC-Astoria Walldorf on Friday evening to extend their lead. On Sunday, 01.12.2024, Bornheim will welcome Kickers Offenbach for the Main derby. Kick-off is at 3.30 pm in the PSD Bank Arena.