Eintracht Frankfurt dreaming of Europe again as Dost Delights against Fortuna

Dutch striker's all action debut suggests that Frankfurt can repeat the Europa League heroics of last season

It was not looking good for Eintracht Frankfurt, who were failing to convince against Fortuna Dusseldorf on Sunday afternoon. Despite bossing possession, the Eagles were not quite clicking in attack. Summer signing Dejan Joveljić lead the line, but the 20-year old was struggling to make an impact in only his second Bundesliga game.

Matters were made worse ten minutes before the break when Rouwen Hennings headed the visitors into an unlikely lead. Mangers are often defined by their substitutions and Adi Hütter acted promptly, switching Joveljić for new signing Bas Dost.

The Dutch striker, who had only been signed from Sporting Lisbon six days previously knows about scoring goals. Bosting an impressive record in Portugal of 76 goals in 83 league appearances, Dost was immediately at home in at the Commerzbank-Arena.

A goal within ten minutes into his debut was quite the way to announce himself in front of his new fans, nodding in Gonçalo Paciência’s clipped cross. The introduction of Dost had not only changed the scoreline but the attacking mentality of the side, with the Dutch Strikers presence and moment in the box causing Fortuna all kinds of problems.

Frankfurt duly completed the fightback with five minutes left when provider Paciência slotted home from a tight angle, whilst Dost held up the central defenders.

Paciência was quick to praise the impact of the fans and Dost in turning the game around. “It’s emotional when you play in this stadium, the fans push us a lot, and when we score in the last minute it’s unbelievable.”

“We changed our strikers this season we lost Seb and Luka in the summer we have a different team with different players, but the quality is still here. We don’t play the same game as last year, but we are always improving that is important. This way we have to still work hard and the future will be good for us.”

Having lost Sebastian Haller and Luka Jovic in the summer, the signing of Dost represents a move from Frankfurt to boost their goal scoring ranks. They've certainly picked up a savvy forward, who has an envious goalscoring record in recent years along with Bundesliga experience. Add in the deadline day capture of Andre Silva on a two-year loan deal, and Frankfurt now have a strike force, lead by Dost that is more than capable of mixing it with the best of the Bundesliga and in the Europa League.