Eintracht Frankfurt 1 Hertha Berlin 1: Darida salvages point for Dardai´s men

Vladimir Darida netted a late equaliser to earn Hertha Berlin a point in a 1-1 draw from their Bundesliga clash with Eintracht Frankfurt at the Commerzbank-Arena.

After Vedad Ibisevic rattled the woodwork early on, Alexander Meier hit the back of the net for the sixth time in as many appearances against the capital club to open the scoring in the first half.

The hosts were unable to add to their tally, with Marc Stendera hitting the post on the stroke of half time and Luc Castaignos blazing over after the restart.

Frankfurt were subsequently punished by Hertha eight minutes from time with a cool finish from Darida earning the visitors a point.

Missed chances were a theme throughout for the hosts as Stefan Aigner failed to convert either of a couple of early chances, and it almost proved costly as Ibisevic hit the frame of the goal with a header in the 14th minute.

The opening goal went the way of Frankfurt, however, when Meier netted his fourth Bundesliga strike of the season by volleying home a flick-on from Marco Russ.

Vaclav Kadlec failed to add to the hosts’ tally as he headed over from a Bastian Oczipka cross on the half-hour mark and Ibisevic shared a similar fate moments later, blazing off-target from Marvin Plattenhardt’s delivery.

The chances kept coming, and only the crossbar stopped Stendera from netting a 30-yard stunner for the hosts before the interval.

Hertha thought they had equalised in the 58th minute as Ibisevic slotted an effort underneath Lucas Hradecky, but the flag was quickly raised for a tight offside decision.

Castaignos could have made sure of the win with 12 minutes remaining, but he fired over the top from Stefan Reinartz’s pass.

Pal Dardai’s men had played with greater intensity throughout the second half and finally got their reward late on as Darida capitalised on Alexander Baumjohann’s deflected pass to slot home in the 82nd minute.

Frankfurt remain in the bottom half of the table as a result – though they remain unbeaten in 14 Bundesliga home games – while a point edges Hertha closer to the European places.