Eintracht Frankfurt beat third division Viktoria Köln with a hard-fought 2-0 (1-0) and is now in the round of 16 of the DFB Cup. Ellyes Skhiri (14th) and Ansgar Knauff (90th) scored for the guests. The Frankfurters were also able to thank their goalkeeper Jens Grahl, who made some great saves against the strong hosts.
Corner gives Frankfurt the lead
Frankfurt started more actively than the hosts, but needed a standard to take the lead. Robin Koch extended a corner from the right to the second post, where Skhiri had run in and just had to push in. Viktoria went on the offensive for the first time after around 20 minutes, but Donny Bogicevic’s shot was too central.
After around half an hour, Cologne came very close to equalizing: Luca Marseiler failed from 18 meters to the brilliantly reacting Jens Grahl in the Eintracht goal. At the ensuing corner, Grahl again parried against a header from Moritz Fritz. There were no major opportunities for either team until the break.
Knauff makes the decision
In the second half there was still no noticeable difference in class. Cologne even acted a little more actively than the guests from Frankfurt. The best chance initially came from Christoph Greger, whose shot was blocked just before the line. However, there was far too little offensive from the SGE; Frankfurt just wanted to manage their lead.
After a free kick from Omar Marmoush, Ben Voll had to seriously intervene for the first time (83′). Eintracht decided the game with a counterattack against the advanced Viktoria: Marmoush brought in Paxton Aaronson, who was running along, and he found the completely free Knauff with his cross pass.