"More game control": FSV Frankfurt will have to adapt in Bahlingen

With a well-functioning transition game, FSV Frankfurt has climbed to second place in the Regionalliga Südwest. However, the Bornheim team will need other qualities in the upcoming matchday in Bahlingen. They can rely on their original number 3, Louis Held, in goal.

Finding solutions in possession: FSV Frankfurt travels to BSC as favorites. IMAGO/Jan Huebner

FSV Frankfurt has already established itself as the most successful away team. And now, at the third attempt, they've secured their first home win. The reward is well-deserved: The traditional club from the east of the Main metropolis has taken second place with a 2-0 win over Eintracht Trier . But despite 16 out of 21 possible points, the Bornheimer Hang team is trying to be cautious. "We're very happy with the points haul. But we've only had seven matchdays, there's still a long way to go," said coach Tim Görner , adding unequivocally: "We won't be throwing out any attacking slogans."

FSV Frankfurt, at least as things stand, doesn't have the confidence to attack the still flawless Freiberg side. Five points separate the Hessians from the Swabians. And what's even more significant: the memories of their only defeat are still too fresh, when the league leaders deservedly took three points from Frankfurt (3-1).

Nevertheless, the positives prevail for FSV these late summer days. It's truly astonishing how Görner's team held their own against third-division relegated SV Sandhausen (2-1) and strong newly promoted SG Sonnenhof Großaspach (3-2), and how they performed absolutely confidently against rivals Hessen Kassel (1-0). While they carelessly squandered a win against TSV Schott Mainz (2-2) despite being outnumbered, FSV struggled at times to secure a deserved 2-0 win against then-bottom-of-the-table TSG Balingen.

Görner warns

And now the road leads back to the south of the country, to a club in the bottom of the league. "The league is far too tight," says Görner, who doesn't want to hear about an easy task on Saturday (2 p.m.) against Bahlinger SC – even though the Kaiserstuhl team has endured a hefty losing streak in the league since mid-August (five points and a goal difference of 2:19).

Görner is aware that his team won't be able to implement their beloved transition game as intensively in Bahlingen as they did in Sandhausen and Großaspach. "We will take more control of the game," he announces. But Frankfurt are also so adept at this discipline that they can expand their impressive away record.

A goalkeeper who started the season as just number 3 also played a role in this. But after Lucas Becker 's injury and Henry Bremer 's departure, things went steeply uphill for Louis Held . The 19-year-old was still playing for Eintracht Frankfurt's U-19 team a few months ago. "Louis made excellent use of his opportunity," Görner praised "his" Held. The somewhat lanky-looking keeper hasn't conceded a goal in 200 minutes; on Sunday, Held made an outstanding save from two Trier goals, demonstrating his strengths, especially on the line.

His experienced rival Becker, who joined from Kickers Offenbach in the summer, is back in team training. "A start for the Bahlingen game is too early," says Görner regarding this personnel issue. Also not yet available are attacking players Amin Farouk and Hassan Mourad – the latter still played for Bahlingen between 2022 and 2024. Both are "in rehabilitation training" after injuries, the coach notes. However, in Birkan Celik and Ismail Harnafi , FSV currently has two agile, strong, and goal-scoring players in its ranks who can break through a Bahlingen defense.