An early first half rampage saw Eintracht Frankfurt overcome Hoffenheim. Bastian Ockzipka, Haris Seferovic and Timothy Chandler all struck within fifteen minutes of each other, while Kevin Volland's free-kick was a rare bright spot for the visitors.

A recent run of poor results had seen Thomas Schaaf's men drop out of European contention and a disappointing showing away to Europa League rivals Werder Bremen almost confirmed their fate. Following the 1-0 defeat, Schaaf made a hat-trick of changes; Carlos Zambrano, Timothy Chandler and Stefan Aigner replaced Anderson Bamba, Sonny Kittel and Nelson Valdez, in a bid to spark them back into life.

Hoffenheim looked to be heading for a similar scenario, after going through a rough patch of their own. However, a draw with Borussia Dortmund and victory against Hannover 96 had brought them back into the reckoning. Markus Gisdol made just one change following the BVB stalemate, brining in Sebastian Rudy for Jeremy Toljan.

Things were tight and tense to begin with, given the importance of any potential challenge for Europe by either side. It was extremely even until an unlikely goalscorer gave Eintracht the lead.

Bastian Oczipka, who had never scored before, stepped up to a twenty-yard free-kick and struck it well towards Oliver Baumann's corner. Unfortunately for the Hoffenheim stopper, he had already began to shuffle the other way and couldn't recover in time; leaving him with egg on his face and Oczipka with a strike to remember.

Hoffenheim threatened to reply but Kevin Trapp and Roberto Firmino's poor finishing kept the home side ahead. They were made to regret that as Frankfurt extended their advantage. Haris Seferovic's debut season goals had gone largely unnoticed thanks to Alex Meier's fine form, though he broke clear of the visiting defence and finished with aplomb to remind everyone of his qualities. His ninth goal of the season was finished with the outside of his foot, their second in ten minutes.

Gisdol's side were capitulating and a third on the half-hour heaped further misery on them. A short-corner worked its way to Oczipka, who curled a flat delivery to the near post. It only need a slight flick and Chandler provided that, using the pace on the ball brilliantly and glancing it into the far corner to send the already disbelieving home fans into further delight.

The Hoffenheim coaching staff were clearly not pleased and they made a triple substitution at half-time. Steven Zuber, Tarik Elyounoussi and Tobias Strobl came on for Anthony Modeste, Eugen Polanski and Ermin Bicakcic, respectively, which had the immediate effect they were looking for.

Kevin Volland had been quiet in the game but his twenty-five yard free-kick screamed into the top corner. Trapp's dive was in vain as it rocketed past him and handed Hoffenheim a route back into the game.

They couldn't build on that, however, and the game meandered towards the final whistle. Takashi Inui had a great chance to add to the score-line but took too long over his chance and fired wide. It mattered little, however, and they held on to secure an impressive win and severely dent Hoffenheim's chances of reaching the Europa League.

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About the author
Jonathan Walsh
SoccerSight IFA commentator. VAVEL deputy editor-in-chief/VAVEL Bundesliga editor-in-chief and writer. Email: [email protected]