Berlin, Nov 4 (IANS): Sebastien Haller's late winner helped Eintracht Frankfurt beat struggling Werder Bremen 2-1 in the opener of the 11th round in Bundesliga football season.
The "Eagles" have recorded their fifth victory of the season on Friday after Sebastien Haller shocked resilient Bremen, who have suffered their second straight loss to remain in the drop zone, reports Xinhua news agency.
Bottom side Werder Bremen took the reins from the kick off whereas Eintracht Frankfurt needed some time to gain a foothold into the game.
However, despite a dominating opening period it were the hosts who broke the deadlock against the run of the game as Ante Rebic had all time and space to drill the ball from the edge of the box into the top right corner with 17 minutes played.
The "Green-Whites" were shocked but regrouped to restore parity eight minutes later when Frankfurt failed to clear the ball following a corner, allowing Niklas Moisander to poke home the equaliser between three defenders from four meters.
Both sides exchanged offensive actions but neither Frankfurt's Rebic nor Bremen's Zlatko Junuzovic were able to ensure the lead despite promising chances before the half time.
After the restart, Frankfurt took the upper hand to work out a number of goal scoring chances. The hosts should have grabbed the lead in the 55th minute but Kevin Prince Boateng missed the open goal following a square pass from Jetro Willems.
Frankfurt continued powerful as Bremen goalkeeper Jiri Pavlenka had to tip Willems' effort around the post before Marius Wolf rattled the outside of the post from sharp angle around the one-hour mark.
Bremen lacked in penetration and were unable to notch up their performance whereas Frankfurt got rewarded for their efforts in the closing period as Taleb Tawatha's pinpoint cross found Haller, who volleyed home the 2-1 winner from eleven meters with one minute remaining to play.
Four days after the dismissal of Bremen head coach Alexander Nouri, the "Green-Whites" continue winless and stay on the 17th position with five points from 11 games. Meanwhile, Frankfurt jumped on the 5th place, and in touching distance to the top three.
The following fixtures are scheduled for Saturday: runner-up Borussia Dortmund encounter front-runners Bayern Munich for the top clash, third placed Leipzig host newly promoted Hannover, Freiburg face Schalke, Borussia Monchengladbach meet Mainz, Augsburg see Bayer Leverkusen and Hamburg take on Stuttgart.