1-0 victory in the Bölle fortress: Analysis of the Münster match

After a 1-0 victory, we didn’t have to look far for the defining moment of the match. Fifty-six minutes had been played at the Merck Stadium at Böllenfalltor when the ball left Marco Richter’s right foot and, a split second later, rattled against the crossbar of the Münster goal. „It would have been a sure candidate for ‚Goal of the Month,'“ wrote Sportschau in their match report about the Darmstadt midfielder’s exquisite attempt. But the disappointment over the missed opportunity quickly dissipated. Because Killian Corredor anticipated perfectly, positioned himself perfectly, and headed the rebound into the net. The goal that made it 1-0? Without a doubt, our highlight of the match.

Home winning streak extended. Nine home games. Six home wins, plus three draws. A total of 21 home points. That’s the Lilies‘ first-half tally at the Merck Stadium at Böllenfalltor. After the 16th matchday, SV 98 sits atop the second division home table. „If you want to be a good team and pick up a lot of points in this league, then it’s important to have a fortress at home,“ emphasised Kai Klefisch after the 1-0 victory against Preußen Münster. „We’ve built exactly that fortress this year together with the fans,“ continued the number 17 from southern Hesse.

Darmstadt’s sixth home win of the season wasn’t pretty, but it was an important and ultimately deserved victory. Against a possession-based Münster side, Darmstadt created several good opportunities. While SC Preußen Münster, one of the best possession teams in the 2. Bundesliga, certainly had more of the ball, Darmstadt had the more promising chances. Florian Kohfeldt echoed this sentiment in the post-match press conference. „Overall, we had the clearly better scoring opportunities today – especially in the first half, but we also had our moments in the second half. Therefore, we deserved to win,“ the Darmstadt 98 head coach emphasised.

Defensive stability. One of the main reasons for this 1-0 victory was the selfless defensive performance of the Blue-Whites. The Lilies have now kept a clean sheet seven times this season – only Hertha Berlin (9) have managed this more often. „Games we win without conceding a goal are the best for a defender,“ smiled Matej Maglica in the mixed zone of the Merck Stadium. He and his teammates defended consistently and with focus for 90 minutes. Kohfeldt: „We developed a high level of discipline and passion defensively, defending against Preußen Münster’s chances.“ Apart from Joshua Mees‘ shot that hit the inside of the post in the second half, Darmstadt didn’t allow the visitors any dangerous attacks. „It was really fun to give it our all to keep the three points here,“ emphasized Maglica.

The Darmstadt players knew even before the match that there was no chance of winning any style points in their home game against Preußen Münster. The Lilies knew what awaited them at the Merck Stadium at Böllenfalltor – namely, 90 minutes of hard work. „It wasn’t about playing beautifully, but about winning,“ said Klefisch, adding: „That was the primary goal, and we achieved it.“

Finishing was poor. One goal was enough for Darmstadt to secure a home victory on Sunday afternoon. However, the Lilies could easily have scored one or two more. Patric Pfeiffer and Isac Lidberg both hit the crossbar twice within seconds of each other in the first half. The Swedish striker from southern Hesse also appeared dangerously close to the opposing goal on several occasions. And Marco Richter also registered shots from promising positions. However, all of these attempts – 15 shots on goal in total – failed to find the back of the net. This lack of clinical finishing was the fly in the ointment of what was otherwise a very solid defensive performance.