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FCK-FSV Frankfurt

Head coach Marco Kurz made two changes to the successful squad which defeated KSC 3-1 last Sunday, naming Ivo Ilicevic instead of Markus Steinhöfer on the left wing and Srdjan Lakic – the man who scored twice in Karlsruhe – to replace the suspended Erik Jendrisek up front.

In spite of heavy snowfall and freezing temperatures, numerous fans had come to the Betzenberg to support the Red Devils. Once the referee whistled play underway at the Fritz Walter Stadium, the home side roared off the blocks with Ivo Ilicevic firing in a long-range effort after three minutes, but FSV shot-stopper Klandt saved capably. The Red Devils enjoyed the better start against a very deep-lying side from Frankfurt. On seven minutes, FCK team captain Martin Amedick caught a nice Bugera corner kick just to see his header miss the target.

It was against the run of play when the visitors snatched the lead with ten minutes on the clock as Tobi Sippel parried an attack by Kujabi in the box before Gallego trapped the rebound and crossed for Ledgerwood on the left. The FSV striker left Sippel with no chance to save as he headed home. The goal came out of the blue but the guests acted 100 percent efficiently as they converted their first scoring chance and took the lead early.

However, the Red Devils reacted admirably to the setback with a furious assault on the visitors’ goal. Rodnei thundering a header on goal from a Bugera free kick forcing Klandt to perform heroics (15). A long-range effort by Sam followed suit but was stopped by Frankfurt’s strong goalkeeper as well (17). The home side had the ball in the net from a penalty kick after 23 minutes. Before, Jiri Bilek had entered the penalty area and was brought down by Gledson just when he was in a promising scoring position. Referee Aytekin awarded a penalty against FSV, and up stepped Sidney Sam who fired the ball past Klandt scoring his seventh goal of the current campaign.

The 28,224 crowd at the Betzenberg saw chances at both ends with Nemec heading just over from a brilliant Ilicevic cross and Sam missing another chance on 40 minutes. Nevertheless, FCK’s defensive unit as well had work to do as Frankfurt’s self-confidence was boosted through the early goal.

The second half started with a scoring opportunity for the home side as Sidney Sam performed an excellent solo on the left leaving behind two opponents before feeding Lakic in the box. However, the Bosnian’s shot flew wide. The Red Devils had their problems to find the right way to overcome the deep-lying Frankfurt side.

With 56 minutes on the clock, Bugera fed Sam with an excellent cross but Sam failed to get the ball under control. The home side enhanced the pressure as Nemec just headed over from another Bugera corner kick before Dick fired in a fast-paced cross as the FSV defense was able to clear the situation.

The action died down a bit midway through the second half as the home side was struggling to find a way through the tight FSV defense. With only one quarter left, Ilicevic heralded a new FCK offensive when he trapped the ball and appeared in front of Klandt but his thundering shot flew wide. Lakic fired in the next shot just one minute later but Klandt saved capably. Sidney Sam displayed a brilliant solo on the left making his way into the box just to see his shot being parried by the strong FSV shot-stopper. At the other end, Tobi Sippel performed heroics to deny a Gjasula attack.

Raiding right-back, the Red Devils had the great opportunity to take the lead as Sam fed Nemec in the box just to see the tall striker’s effort missing the target by a hairbreadth. Three minutes into stoppage time, Sam fired in the last chance of the match with his thundering free kick cannoning against the crossbar before the referee blew the final whistle.