5-1 in the last home game: U21 secures survival in the league

Five goals, six celebrations. Looking at the league table, the young Lilies went into the match as underdogs, but Darmstadt’s positive run of form proved decisive. The young Lilies carried this energy into the game. Smail Kadrijaj, in particular, was on fire: he gave the U21s the lead in the 16th minute, and the score remained 1-0 at halftime.

The young Lilies came out of the locker room with even more fire. In the 51st minute, Kadrijaj was awarded a penalty, but he missed. However, he kept his composure and converted the rebound to make it 2-0. In the 56th minute, Kadrijaj completed his hat trick, making it 3-0. In the 59th minute, Kelvin Kunstmann added his name to the scoresheet with a long-range shot, making it 4-0.

The young Lilies came out of the locker room with even more fire. „I’m very happy for Smail; he had to take on a new role this season and has grown into it brilliantly,“ Schmitt said, delighted with his hat trick scorer. After his hat trick, Kadrijaj sits in second place in the Hessenliga scoring race with 25 goals this season, one goal behind Mirco Geisler (26, FC Gießen).

Luis Klappich (84th minute) sealed the victory for Darmstadt with his goal to make it 5-0, but Pohlheim (87th minute) managed a consolation goal. The final score was 5-1, securing their place in the league, a fact the SV 98 U21 players weren’t immediately aware of. Only after the match did the coach reveal the result of the Kassel game in a huddle with the team, sparking jubilation and pure joy.

„I congratulate the team from the bottom of my heart: not only on staying in the league, but also on their development over the past few months – both individually and as a team on the pitch. And that applies to every single player!“ Schmitt exclaimed with immense pride. This progress had been evident not only during the 90 minutes of competitive matches in the Hessenliga, but also in training. „Now we can delve into much greater detail,“ Schmitt added. The U21 coach also considers the work of the entire staff to be very important, „who have prepared the boys very well week after week.“

The young Lilies will play their final Hessenliga match of the season on Saturday (May 30th/3pm) away at FC Eddersheim. Despite having already secured their place in the league, no drop in intensity is expected when they visit the confirmed runners-up. „The lads want to keep going,“ says Schmitt. „It’s a shame the season is almost over. We’d love to continue the way things are going. That’s why we want to go into the summer break with five wins from our last five games,“ the U21 coach declared.