The look to the future is characterized by fresh optimism.

What had to be said and done for the moment, Oliver Glasner had already done on the sidelines and after the final whistle.

"Bravo, Bravo," were his heckling, with which he indicated several times that he liked what his people were doing very much.

To do this, he clapped his hands in front of the substitutes' bench, and later, after the work was done, almost every one of them received a pat on the shoulder indicating that the boss was satisfied.

Marc Heinrich

Sports editor.

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The Eintracht coach spoke of a “step forward” after the first win in the second test match. If the test went wrong a week ago against SV Wehen Wiesbaden (1: 3), the Frankfurt team showed a performance on Saturday in the test run against the second-class SV Sandhausen, which - measured by the level of preparation - was impressive. They won the encounter with the Palatinate in humid heat behind closed doors at the arena 1-0; Filip Kostic scored the decisive goal in the 32nd minute.

The Serb interpreted his role on the left with power. He went both the ways backwards in a whiz when it was necessary to strengthen the defensive chain, as he also tightened the sprints forwards in a powerful manner. The 28-year-old is in promising early form; And all those who suspected that he was only returning to the Main after the summer holidays at home to quickly clear his locker and then say goodbye to Serie A have to admit without envy that Kostic's willingness to work is currently above everyone Doubt is sublime.

A change this summer, provided a club is found that is willing to dig deep into their pockets and shell out a high double-digit million amount, is not excluded. At the moment Kostic presents himself with an impeccable attitude and in a physical condition with which he stands out from Glasner's ensemble. Its continued employment would continue to serve Eintracht well.

He was "very satisfied", was the interim conclusion of the trainer. "That was better today than last Saturday in every respect." His players had, as previously discussed, "worked well against the ball" and showed an "intense" performance, with which he was completely in agreement. “It was important to see that the processes and behaviors become clearer during all phases. We were variable, ”said Glasner. "In the first half I saw each other for 30, 35 minutes exclusively in the opposing half."

The line-up up to the 45th minute and the formation after that he did not want to be taken as a clue as to who could possibly be ahead of him. “I know that there are such interpretations, also from the players' side,” said the coach, “but there is no A and B team here. We are a team". He used a total of 22 players and switched completely to the break. Even after the break, when Danny da Costa and Goncalo Paciencia were just two professionals for Eintracht, plus greenhorn Dejan Joveljic and eight other youngsters, the pressure on the opponent hardly decreased.

Which was also due to the fact that Fabio Blanco showed a fearless performance in midfield on his debut in the Eintracht jersey, which indicated that his excellent reputation as one of the most talented young footballers in Spain was not unfairly ahead of him when Eintracht signed him. The 17-year-old was looking for one-on-one duels, moved skillfully with the ball on his foot and, thanks to body illusions from the duel, immediately switched to the sprint again and again. All in all: a very positive effort.

Glasner said of the teenager with the curly hair that he had first-class approaches and, last but not least, had shown healthy aggressiveness; this also meant that Blanco kept going unimpressed after violent attacks with which the SVS defense wanted to stop him. "It was nice to see how they did it," said Danny da Costa, who led the gang as captain in the second section and pushed forward on his right side in a duet with Ali Akman and closed gaps at the back.

The 18-year-old Turk, who already gave a taste of his skills in some successful scenes against Wehen Wiesbaden, was one of the assets this time as well. “Many of them could still play under 19. At this age, it's nice to be up there. It was a while ago for me, but still fondly remembered, ”said 28-year-old Da Costa. "They grow in these games and as they did today, I can only say: Really good!" Said the returnees from Mainz.

Before leaving Frankfurt, on the other hand, there is another Eintracht player who was recently loaned out: goalkeeper Frederik Rönnow, who did not find his luck at FC Schalke in the last round, is planning his final departure: the Dane, who was a substitute at the European Championship , is negotiating a commitment with Union Berlin. His contract with Eintracht expires at the end of June 2022.