Aytac Sulu's first-half header was enough to earn Darmstadt a valuable three points in Frankfurt.
Aytac Sulu's first-half header was enough to earn Darmstadt a valuable three points in Frankfurt.

Sulu soars to give Darmstadt derby honours

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Promoted side SV Darmstadt 98 edged a 1-0 victory in an intense Hesse derby away to local rivals Eintracht Frankfurt on Sunday.

Eintracht Frankfurt 0–1 SV Darmstadt 98

Goals: 0-1 Sulu (30’)

As the first league meeting between the regional neighbours since 24 April 1982, the match began in predictably fierce fashion, with hefty tackles a frequent sight in an open encounter. Clear chances were a rarity, but Darmstadt went in front on the half-hour mark when captain Aytac Sulu headed in from Tobias Kempe's free-kick.

Stefan Aigner had two wonderful opportunities to equalise for the hosts in the second half, but Darmstadt goalkeeper Christian Mathenia raced off his line to smother on each occasion. Marcel Heller could have killed the game off at the other end when he burst into the box to go one-on-one with Lukas Hradecky, but the Frankfurt custodian came out on top. Both teams continued to attack until the final minute, but there were to be no more goals in what was a gripping encounter throughout.

Man of the match

Darmstadt keeper Mathenia played a huge role in the visitors taking all three points, pulling off several important saves to keep a clean sheet.

Talking point

This was Darmstadt’s first ever win away to Frankfurt in the Bundesliga, and only their second league triumph over their neighbours overall. The result will be all the sweeter for the victors, as it means they pulled four points ahead of the Eagles.

Match stats

    Darmstadt have gone 1-0 up in six of their seven away games this season. They are also the only Bundesliga side not to concede in the first half away from home this term.Seven of Darmstadt’s 15 goals this term have come from set-pieces. Marc Stendera ran further than any other player on the pitch (12 kilometres).

Line-ups

Frankfurt: Hradecky – Hasebe, Zambrano (c), Abraham (Russ 35’), Oczipka – Medojevic (Kadlec 80’), Reinartz – Aigner, Stendera, Gacinovic (Waldschmidt 46’) - Seferovic

Darmstadt: Mathenia – Jungwirth, Sulu (c), Caldirola, Holland (Diaz 63’) – Niemeyer, Gondorf – Heller, Rosenthal (Sailer 77’), Kempe (Rajkovic 89’) – Wagner