Lilies win in Walldorf
SV Darmstadt 98 won their fourth pre-season friendly. The Lilies defeated regional league side FC-Astoria Walldorf 4-1 (0-0) after 120 minutes.
Fabian Nürnberger has been away with the national team in recent days. The Lilien player played for Bulgaria – his mother's home country – in the Nations League playoffs against Ireland. Nürnberger gained plenty of match practice. He started both matches and played a total of 161 minutes. We've summarised the first and second leg for you here.
The first leg could not have started better for the Bulgarian team coached by Ilian Iliev: Marin Petkov scored the 1-0 lead in the sixth minute with a well-placed low shot. The impressive goal, however, did not last long, as Ireland equalised after just 21 minutes and took the lead in the 43rd minute. In an uneventful second half, Bulgaria failed to pull away. Fabian Nürnberger was substituted after 72 minutes. Following the defeat in the first leg at home, Nürnberger and his team faced a difficult task in the return leg in Dublin.
The second leg played out almost identically: Bulgaria got off to a good start and took the lead in the 30th minute through Valentin Antov, following a corner. Ireland, however, managed to recover from the goal and levelled in the 63rd minute. The Bulgarians were betting everything on a goal to force their way into extra time. Ireland, however, capitalised coolly in the 84th minute, scoring the winner on the counterattack 2-1. Nürnberger was substituted after 89 minutes.
Due to the 4 – 2 defeat in the overall standings against Ireland, Fabian Nürnberger and the Bulgarian national team remain in League C of the UEFA Nations League and thus missed out on promotion to League B.