Berlin, Nov 8 (Agency) Eintracht Frankfurt secured its third win in four Europa League matches after Omar Marmoush’s lone goal earned a 1-0 victory over Slavia Praha. Slavia started brightly in front of a 57,350 crowd on Thursday, preventing Frankfurt from gaining any momentum in the opening minutes. However, it was the home side that had the first real chance in the seventh minute when Marmoush went through on goal but could not beat Prague goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky.Five minutes later, Mahmoud Dahoud shot just wide from the edge of the area. For the remainder of the first half, the game remained evenly balanced, with Slavia penetrating Eintracht’s territory without posing much of a threat, while Eintracht twice forced Kinsky into action through Ansgar Knauff and Marmoush. It was not until the 43rd minute that Slavia came close to breaking the deadlock when Tomas Chory shot wide from close range.
Frankfurt made a perfect start to the second half, opening the scoring in the 53rd minute when Marmoush curled a freekick over the wall from 19 meters. As the game progressed, Eintracht controlled possession, but Marmoush couldn’t complete a brace in the 68th minute when defender Igoh Ogbu blocked a dangerous shot at the last moment. Slavia came to life in the closing stages when substitute Ondrej Lingr’s deflected shot forced Frankfurt goalkeeper Kevin Trapp into action. Trapp remained busy and made a diving save to deny Matej Jurasek a last-gasp equalizer. At the other end, Kinsky denied Hugo Ekitike from doubling Eintracht’s advantage.”It was hard work. It feels all the better that we got three points,” said Frankfurt defender Robin Koch. “We created more chances, so we definitely deserve the win,” said Frankfurt coach Dino Toppmoller. The result lifts Eintracht Frankfurt into the top four, while Slavia Praha drops to 22nd in the Europa League standings.