After the leg pain, many players were close to cramps, the heartache followed.
At the final whistle, Laura Freilang immediately shot tears in her eyes - it should have been her big day as an aspiring national striker, many expectations rested on her shoulders, but she achieved very little in 120 minutes on the lawn.
The horror was written on many players' faces.
Tanja Pawollek could only be transported to the medal ceremony on the back of the substitute goalkeeper. The captain of Frankfurt Eintracht had suffered a painful knee injury shortly before half-time of the DFB Cup final. But even more painful for the brave Hessians turned out to be the realization that they had a great chance to make club history on Sunday and that they missed this great opportunity. The SGE was close, closer than was to be expected after their fickle Bundesliga season and given the quality of the opponent. VfL Wolfsburg scored the goal in the Cologne arena in the 118th minute through Ewa Pajor, which opened the door to the seventh cup triumph in a row in the Cologne arena. The Frankfurt women, who fight with full devotion and sometimes hard, horror was written on their faces.
And shortly afterwards it was over, the hope of the tenth cup triumph, the first under the name Eintracht after the era of the FFC. The Frankfurt women followed the ceremony with the handover of the silver trophy in the glittering rain like a mourning community. “I am extremely proud of the team effort. We showed how we grew together, how we threw everything in and defended it to the point of no-going ”, said Merle Frohms. The goalkeeper was in the spotlight more often, had to stretch for balls one time or another, but the Hessians hardly allowed great chances against the favorites up to the 118th minute.
The late low blow, which looked like a sporty rifle shot, was all the more bitter. It was expected that the individually better quality of the green-whites would prevail - but the way in which this ultimately made the difference justified any Frankfurt frustration. “A cup final,” said Merle Frohms defiantly, “is always there for this team.” The national goalkeeper was lucky in stoppage time in regular time when she steered a cross against the post.
The largest stage that national women's football has to offer was uncharted territory for the coaching team and most of the female players. Especially since the SGE and previously the FFC were unable to win points in various duels with the Wolfsburg women's football power in recent years. Initial nervousness had to be prevented in Cologne against the savvy Wolfsburg star ensemble. And it succeeded. They met the favorite with classic underdog football, cheered each other on the sidelines for every duel they won and pestered the long-uninspired opponent so enormously.
The former Frankfurt resident Svenja Huth, who has long been the VfL leader, did not find any playful solutions to the SGE bulwark, which was resolutely resisting any attack. “The script for an outsider to win the title in the final was exactly like this,” said head coach Niko Arnautis. “We had them on the verge of defeat. If you can lose, then exactly like that. ”Arnautis pointed out that his strong formation was in no way inferior to the favored opponent in terms of the quality of the scoring opportunities. Alexandra Johannsdottir had the best chance in the 59th minute, when one of the rare SGE counterattacks actually resulted in a deal. But the young Icelander aimed too centrally from the best position, so that VfL goalkeeper Almuth Schult was able to raise an arm and bring it to the ball.Camilla Küvers' header got stuck (86th) and Laura Feiersinger lacked strength and precision in her attempt (89th).
In extra time, the Hessians were allowed to act in excess - Almuth Schult saw the red card after an emergency brake against the busy Lara Prasnikar. The Slovenian attacker of Eintracht and the unlucky Laura Freilang in Cologne offered themselves further opportunities to shoot in the 105th and 106th minute. “We simply have to exploit one of these opportunities overall,” said Arnautis. But he also said: "We have shown all of Germany that Eintracht is on the right track." This final chance came a little unexpected after some mixed league appearances and was also prepared by luck in the previous rounds. But all in all, Eintracht took advantage of the opportunity and sharpened its profile in the first year after the merger.