Doan gives Frankfurt all three points | OneFootball

Eintracht Frankfurt won 1-0 at home to Mainz 05 on Matchday 10 of the Bundesliga, with Ritsu Doan scoring the only goal of a tight contest.

Four changes For the meeting with Mainz 05, head coach Dino Toppmöller made four changes from the team which had travelled to Napoli in the UEFA Champions League five days earlier. Ritsu Doan, Mo Dahoud, Ellyes Skhiri and Ansgar Knauff came into the starting line-up, in place of Nnamdi Collins, Mario Götze, Hugo Larsson and Jean-Mattéo Bahoya.  Plenty of bite The capacity crowd at Deutsche Bank Park were treated to a real battle right from the off, with the two midfields fighting for every ball. The respective back lines also held firm, and as such there was little in the way of goalscoring opportunities in the first 45 minutes, with the scoreline goalless at the break.  

Knauff comes close The Eintracht coach brought on fresh legs at half-time, with Larsson and Bahoya replacing Farès Chaibi and Skhiri, and these changes injected life into the hosts’ play. In the 52nd minute, Rasmus Kristensen put a teasing cross into the box which Knauff managed to connect with, but he could not direct his header on target. A mere four minutes later, all eyes were once again on Knauff but his side-footed effort from the edge of the area fizzed just past the right-hand post.

Eagles ramp up the pressure Eintracht kept their foot on the gas and were unfortunate when Dahoud’s free kick from 18 metres out went just wide of the goal on 71 minutes. Bahoya also tried his luck from range after a counter-attack, but ended up sending the ball over the bar from just outside the box. 

Doan finds the back of the net Eintracht were finally rewarded for their efforts and their strong second-half performance in the 81st minute. Doan dribbled his way between two opponents in the penalty area and then picked his spot in the left-hand corner to send the home fans into raptures. There was even a chance for a second, with Elye Wahi, who had not long come on as a substitute, being thwarted by Mainz keeper Robin Zentner. So it ended in a narrow but, on the basis of their second-half dominance, deserved 1-0 victory for the Eagles.