A massively entertaining second-half followed a slow-burning first period. Alex Meier opened the scoring for Frankfurt before Marvin Ducksch and Uwe Hünemeier struck to give Paderborn the lead, Stefan Kutschke fired home late on to seal the win.
Paderborn came into the game against the Eagles with two key players out. Jens Wemmer and Marvin Bakalorz, who have been excellent since their promotion, were both unable to play. Injured and suspended respectively, it was something on André Breitenreiter's mind since the international break. The visitors had many more injury problems: Carlos Zambrano, Kevin Trapp, Constant Djakpa, Nelson Valdez, Sonny Kittel and Jan Rosenthal were all unavailable.
With Wemmer and Bakalorz unable to take part, Breitenreitner brought in Michael Heinloth and Mario Vrancic for the aforementioned pair. There was just one change for Frankfurt, meaning Lucas Piazon took Zambrano's starting place. Some reshuffling was done from the 3-2 win against FC Köln; Marco Russ dropped into centre-half to accommodate the Brazilian's arrival.
The opening 10 minutes were tight and tense, with neither side able to find any room to create an opportunity. Elias Kachunga almost sent his side into the lead, after fine work down the right-hand side by Süleyman Koç. The former-Gladbach striker was unable to get a good contact on the cross and sent the chance horribly wide. Frankfurt were in no mood to go forward; especially down their left side, with Koç in such a troublesome mood and constantly causing Bastian Oczipka problems.
The game was a massive midfield battle. Patrick Ziegler was proving to be an indomitable force in the holding role, preventing Takashi Inui and Lucas Piazon to bring their play-making games' to the party. While Paderborn were stifling the attacking prowess of die Adler, they themselves couldn't find a way to get Kachunga into a goal-scoring position. Aleksander Ignjovski picked up a petulant yellow card for a poor tackle, an accurate summary of Frankfurt's first half efforts.
Paderborn did up the tempo towards the end of the half, but a series of crosses and Ziegler's curling shot were of no great concern to Felix Wiedwald. The hosts were denied a clear penalty when Inui handled in the box and despite fervent appeals, Deniz Aytekin was unwilling to listen. Further pressure pilled onto the Frankfurt back-line, but they managed to make it through to half-time. Thomas Schaaf had a face like thunder and was distraught with his side's lacklustre performance.
Schaaf sent his players out with his words ringing in their ears, but there was no immediate improvement. A few crosses and shots were fired towards Lukas Kruse, only for the Paderborn custodian to deal with them comfortably. However, the ex-Bremen boss and his team talk had a noticeable effect on their side as the game wore on and they finally broke the deadlock.
Alexander Meier, who was in a rich vein of form, was the man to profit from Eintracht's increased tempo. Takashi Inui found some space on the left-hand flank, as he drove inside space opened up on the edge of the box for Meier. The Japanese creator duly picked out Frankfurt's main man and he rifled a shot in off the inside of the post to send the away side into the lead. Meier's fourth goal in his last four games was against the balance of play, but was a fine finish nonetheless.
Disappointed to be behind, Breitenreiter quickly made two changes. Stefan Kutschke and Marvin Ducksch replaced the ineffectual Lukas Rupp and Kachunga, as Paderborn opted to go for a two-man strike-force. The subsitution immediately paid dividends, as the Borussia Dortmund loanee produced a finish of the highest calibre. The ball wouldn't settle for the hosts until Kutschke touched it down to Ducksch, who sent a volley sailing over the helpless Wiedwald and into the top corner. From the corner of the box into the opposite 'postage stamp' in the Frankfurt goal illustrated why he is so highly sought after, just 135 seconds after coming on.
Eintracht then produced a similar reaction to that of Paderborn when they fell a goal behind. Immediately Inui and Piazon were on the ball and causing all sorts of trouble. Some inspired defending and Haris Seferovic firing into the side netting had both fans of their feet, but the visitors couldn't force themselves into the lead once more. At the other end, Ducksch very nearly had a second when he pulled down Koç's cross, though Wiedwald was out quickly to deny him.
Wiedwald produced another top-class save to halt the menacing Koç, but he was to be beaten moments later. Daniel Brückner's cross found Mario Vrancic, he brought the ball down brilliantly and then picked out Uwe Hünemeier who finished with aplomb. The Dortmund connection in the team had turned the game on it's head, with the Paderborn captain meeting Vrancic's cross first time and turning it home brilliantly.
Breitenreitner's substitutions had changed the game and they were to reward him once more. Stefan Kutschke broke costless of the entire Frankfurt defence, rounded a stranded Wiedwald and slotted home to spark wild celebrations in the stands and the dug-out. After losing out on an historic win against Leverkusen two weeks prior, this more than made up for it.
Paderborn's victory ended Frankfurt's four-match unbeaten run, as Schaaf's side looked a shadow of the team that were so confident before the international break. Up to seventh, the Westphalians could look forward to a trip south to face high-flying Hoffenheim. Frankfurt would welcome Stuttgart to the Commerzbank Arena, after missing the chance to move into third place. Paderborn leap-forged their opponents, in fact, thanks to a superior goal difference.