Raiders Tirol Still Winless, Galaxy Wins in Innsbruck
The Frankfurt Galaxy finally has its first victory of the 2026 EFA season. In the first home game of the year for the Raiders Tirol, Frankfurt delivered a disciplined defensive performance and defeated the Austrian side 21:5 at Tivoli Stadium in Innsbruck. The win improves Galaxy’s record to 1-2, while the Raiders fall to 0-3 and remain in search of their first victory.
Early Turnover Gives Tirol Hope
The home crowd had plenty to cheer about in the opening minutes. After Frankfurt quickly moved deep into Raiders territory, safety Jan Mayerhofer forced a fumble from running back Gerald Ameln and linebacker Precious Ogbevoen recovered the football. The turnover immediately gave Tirol excellent field position and a chance to strike first.
Quarterback Steven Krajewski wasted little time. His 54-yard completion to Aaron Jackson moved the Raiders into scoring range before Jonata Loria connected on a 43-yard field goal to give the home team an early 3:0 advantage.
Frankfurt answered with a field goal of its own from Ryan Rimmler, but the opening quarter quickly developed into a defensive battle with both teams struggling to sustain drives.
Galaxy Takes Control Before Halftime
The game shifted in Frankfurt’s favor during the second quarter. After a special teams mistake by Tirol gave the visitors excellent field position, quarterback Ethan Garbers capitalized with a rushing touchdown to put Galaxy ahead 9:3. Although the extra point was blocked, momentum had clearly swung toward the visitors.
Frankfurt was not finished. With less than a minute remaining before halftime, Garbers connected with Brevin Easton for a 53-yard gain that brought the Galaxy to the Raiders’ six-yard line. Moments later, Frankfurt unveiled one of the most creative plays of the young EFA season. Wide receiver Paul Kavadia Lenhardt took the snap and found Garbers in the end zone for a touchdown pass. The successful extra point extended the lead to 16:3 heading into halftime.
Defense Dominates the Second Half
If Tirol hoped to mount a comeback after the break, Frankfurt’s defense quickly shut down those plans.
The Raiders managed to score a safety after a mishandled Galaxy punt snap, cutting the deficit to 16:5. However, that would be the last time the home team got on the scoreboard.
Frankfurt consistently pressured Steven Krajewski throughout the second half. Rabbi Junior intercepted the Raiders quarterback before halftime, while Jaylen Clay added another interception later in the game. Defensive linemen Chris Mulumba and Jahn Jesus Lara Perez repeatedly disrupted Tirol’s offense and prevented any sustained momentum.
A fourth-quarter field goal from Ryan Rimmler increased Frankfurt’s lead before a late safety officially sealed the final result.
Kösling: “The Most Important Thing Was Winning”
Following the game, Frankfurt Head Coach Thomas Kösling made it clear that style points were never the priority.
“The most important thing was that we won today. It doesn’t matter how. We felt like we left a win against Paris out there, and today it was simply important to leave Tirol with a victory. It wasn’t pretty. We still have a lot of issues to fix. We are still very incomplete. Every time it feels like we’re starting to build momentum, an individual mistake pulls us back. But this first win will give us confidence.”
For Frankfurt, the victory felt less like a finished product and more like an important step forward. The Galaxy has shown flashes of its potential throughout the opening weeks, and the win in Innsbruck finally gives the team something tangible to build upon.
Raiders Searching for Offensive Answers
On the opposite sideline, frustration was evident after another difficult evening for the Tirol offense.
Linebacker Precious Ogbevoen, who was one of the Raiders’ standout performers and recovered the game’s first turnover, pointed to the offense’s inability to support the defense.
“We started strong, but as the game went on, things simply stopped coming together for us. The defense kept us in the game, but offensively nothing really worked today. We were a little banged up and our game plan just didn’t work out the way we wanted. On top of that, they capitalized on some of our mistakes and turned them into points.”
Veteran offensive weapon Adrian Platzgummer echoed those concerns and praised Frankfurt’s defensive performance.
“We knew Frankfurt’s defense was extremely strong and athletic. We knew it would be difficult to establish the running game. We simply never found a rhythm offensively. They applied tremendous pressure to our passing game, which meant we could never really put together a complete drive. It was a very tough day at work for us.”
Different Directions Heading Forward
The result leaves both teams heading in very different directions. Frankfurt now has its first win of the season and valuable momentum after opening the year with losses against the Paris Musketeers and Munich Ravens. The Galaxy remains firmly in the playoff conversation and will look to build on this performance in the weeks ahead.
For the Raiders Tirol, the search for answers continues. While the defense once again showed encouraging signs, the offense struggled to generate consistency against one of the league’s most aggressive units. At 0-3, Tirol now faces increasing pressure as the EFA season moves forward.