VfR Aalen vs. FSV Frankfurt 1:3

FSV Frankfurt took on relegation-threatened VfR Aalen at the CENTUS Arena today. After the last 3:1 home win against Stuttgarter Kickers, the Bornheim team had enough motivation and courage for today's match. Aalen, who were already in a direct relegation spot at the time of kick-off, were in desperate need of a win to keep their hopes of avoiding relegation alive. It was already clear before the game that a point would be too little for both teams.

The Görner team, who played in unfamiliar green shirts, were not afraid to go into tackles right from the start. After just two minutes of play, FSV defender Tim Weißmann had to leave the pitch prematurely after a tackle and receive treatment, but was able to continue shortly afterwards. VfR did not hide either and capitalised on their first real chance to score: In the ninth minute of the match, ace Ibrahima Diakité took the ball for himself after a high pass and scored the opening goal from a few metres out to make it 0:1 from Frankfurt's perspective. FSV were not deterred by the early setback and went for the equaliser just a few minutes later after Jihad Boutakhrit crossed the ball into the Aalen sixteen for Cas Peters. However, VfR goalkeeper Michel Witte was quicker than the Dutchman and successfully intercepted the ball.A short time later, Giorgio Del Vecchio tried to shoot at the opposing goal from a good 20 metres, but the ball missed the right goalpost by around a metre. A short time later, Peters found himself alone in front of Witte after a high ball, who cleared his shot for a corner for Bornheim. The Swabians resumed their attacking play as the game progressed, but failed to capitalise on the chance to extend their lead in the 21st minute. Benjamin Kindsvater crossed flat into the away team's penalty area to Diakité, who took the ball with difficulty, allowing Justin Ospelt to collect the ball safely. The scorer of Aalen's 1:0 goal entered the Bornheim penalty area again shortly afterwards and shot into the left corner, but Ospelt reacted with lightning speed again, was on the ground in an instant and secured the ball. In the 25th minute, Onur Ünlücifci hammered another long-range shot at Witte's goal to equalise at 1:1, but the joy did not last long as Peters received a yellow card from the referee shortly before the restart. The reason for this was that the Dutchman ran too early in the direction of the opponent's half, and a few seconds later Jonas Brombacher was shown a yellow card for Peters' headwind. FSV Frankfurt found themselves outnumbered immediately after the restart. Despite the equaliser, VfR played with motivation and put the South Hessians under pressure, while Frankfurt tried to get the ball forward and create the next opportunities, but this did not really work in the final phase of the first half. After three minutes of stoppage time in the first half, both teams went into the dressing rooms with a 1-1 draw.

In the first few minutes of the second half, the match was more even. The spectators in the CENTUS Arena in Aalen saw several corner kicks, but no goal was scored. Görner's team showed more courage and put the home side under pressure. But the team of new head coach Petar Kosturkov did not hide either and built up several counter-attacks over time. The Black & Blue's defence stood firm, but also had a lot to do. However, it was not only the defence that performed well, but also FSV goalkeeper Justin Ospelt, who intercepted and cleared several balls in the space of a few minutes. In the 67th minute, Jihad Boutakhrit took advantage of the hosts' defensive error and scored the opening goal from close range to make it 1-2. The striker left the pitch around five minutes later due to injury, with Malik McLemore replacing him. The Black & Blues were also more courageous in the final phase, but FSV had to be careful at the back as the Whites and Blacks wanted to capitalise on any mistakes made by the visitors. Aalen earned several corners in the final ten minutes of normal time, but both the defensive players and Ospelt were alert and prevented the equaliser. Brombacher added eight minutes to stoppage time, and the tension was evident not only to the players on the pitch, but also to the 3,319 spectators in the stadium. Nicolas Loebus sealed the deal in the fifth minute of stoppage time after the Swabians made another mistake in defence and Loebus finally slotted the ball into an empty net to make it 1-3. After eight minutes of stoppage time, Jonas Brombacher finally ended the game and FSV secured another important three points in the basement clash against VfR Aalen on Sunday afternoon.

FSV Frankfurt wins 3:1 at VfR Aalen and is now ninth in the table. In exactly one week's time, Görner's team will host Eintracht Frankfurt U23. Kick-off is on Sunday, 5.5.24, in the PSD Bank Arena at 2pm.