Eagles ease into next round | OneFootball

Eintracht Frankfurt beat FV Engers 07 5-0 in the first round of the DFB Cup, with a brace for Ritsu Doan and quickfire doubles at the end of each half.

Head coach Dino Toppmöller included summer signings Ritsu Doan and Jonathan Burkardt in his starting XI for the first competitive match of the 2025/26 season. With Kevin Trapp and Kauã Santos absent, Jens Grahl started in goal, while Nnamdi Collins partnered new captain Robin Koch in the centre of defence, where Arthur Theate was missing due to suspension.

Patience pays off

As expected, Eintracht dominated possession at the sold-out Stadion Oberwerth in Koblenz but initially struggled to break down their fifth-tier opponents. In fact, it was Engers who had the best early opportunity when they broke away on the counter in the 18th minute, but Niels Nkounkou stopped Manuel Simons’ underhit finish on the line and Max Schmitten then fired wide from the follow-up.

The Eagles continued to push for a breakthrough, with Rasmus Kristensen, Burkardt, Can Uzun and Farès Chaibi all failing to hit the target with half-chances. But as the pressure increased at the end of the first half, the deadlock was finally broken in the 44th minute. Kristensen picked out Bahoya in the middle and after the Frenchman’s first effort was parried by goalkeeper Franjo Serdarusic, he was able to poke in the rebound from close range.

That was quickly followed by the second goal a minute later. Uzun picked up the ball in space and lifted it perfectly into the path of Doan, who controlled well before guiding it past Serdarusic, giving the Eagles a comfortable cushion at the break.

Subs strike late

It was a similar story in the second half, with Toppmöller’s men dominating possession and Engers sitting deep and looking for opportunities on the counter. Any hopes the hosts had of a comeback were quashed in the 54th minute, when Hugo Larsson threaded the ball through to Doan in the penalty area, who worked the space to curl it into the far corner.

Frankfurt continued to dominate without having to exert themselves too much. Youngsters Uzun and Bahoya were brought off shortly after the hour mark and their replacements, Elye Wahi and Ansgar Knauff, both went close soon after coming on. Doan was then denied a hat-trick in the 79th minute by Serdarusic, which proved to be the Japanese’s last action on an impressive debut as he was replaced by Paxten Aaronson.

The second period ended like the first: with two quick goals from Eintracht. First Wahi bundled the ball home via a deflection after a corner, before setting up Aaronson for the fifth and final goal – both men netting their maiden competitive goals for the club. In the end it was a comfortable victory for the Hessians, although Engers certainly didn’t disgrace themselves.