A point won

The minutes after the 1-0: „We were the inferior team for 60 minutes. The 1-0 deficit was deserved.“ Florian Kohfeldt offered his typically honest assessment of the match after the final whistle. For an hour, 1. FC Magdeburg had impressed with their ball control and intensity, allowing SV 98 few opportunities to win possession and, especially before halftime, squandering a chance to take the lead. Fabian Nürnberger’s unfortunate own goal in the 62nd minute was therefore, in a way, a just reward for the hosts and meant that, at that moment, few would have bet on SV 98 securing an away point. But the team from southern Hesse responded in impressive fashion. Just three minutes after conceding, Nürnberger missed a golden opportunity („I have to score that“) against FCM goalkeeper Reimann, before finally finding the net in the 67th minute with a deflected long-range effort.

What has distinguished Darmstadt this season is their ability to take something tangible away from the game even on days when they don’t reach their full potential. This is especially true because they maintain their belief in scoring in every match and at every moment. „Today was a game where we would have fallen apart last year,“ summarised Kohfeldt, recalling Darmstadt’s performance at the same venue last season, where they suffered a 4-1 defeat.

The minutes following the conceded goal were further proof of Darmstadt 98’s mental fortitude this season, which can yield results even on days when their football is weaker.

The last half hour: It would be wrong to describe the period after conceding the goal until the final whistle as outstanding or exceptionally strong. But Darmstadt’s performance during this time was certainly remarkable. Because it’s anything but easy to get back into a game after falling behind and having played poorly up to that point. Especially when key players like Fraser Hornby, Killian Corredor, Raoul Petretta, and Niklas Schmidt (who had already been substituted due to dizziness) are unavailable, and you’re chasing a 1-0 deficit in such a vibrant stadium (despite the section closure).

„We could even have turned it around in the last half hour,“ explained Kohfeldt, who described that period as an „open game.“ Generally, everyone at Darmstadt agreed that the draw, considering the first 60 minutes, represented a point gained. Nevertheless, it was also clear that Darmstadt 98 continued to push forward until the 98th minute, fielding three nominal strikers at the final whistle, and weren’t content with just one point, even on such a night. Although, in the end, that single point was certainly a satisfactory result.

Access and cleanliness. The fact that SV 98 struggled to find their rhythm for a good hour can be attributed to several factors. As is well known, 1. FC Magdeburg is a possession-based team. Despite their league position, FCM actually leads this statistic in the league with 56 percent possession. Petrik Sander’s team is characterised by high ball security and control, but this style of play also creates opportunities for the opponent during counter-attacks. „The crucial thing is to find the spaces that open up after winning the ball. We didn’t quite manage that today,“ Fabian Holland summarised after the final whistle.

This was partly due to the fact that SV 98 generally made few interceptions. „Magdeburg is a special opponent that you can only press if you’re perfectly coordinated,“ Kohfeldt concluded, before adding that this coordination wasn’t fully present in his team on Friday evening. This was also due to the further changes within the team and the departure from the original plan of a back four, which was no longer feasible after Petretta’s injury, as Fabian Holland was repeatedly supported by Luca Marseiler in his direct duels with the lightning-fast Rayan Ghrieb, meaning that SV 98 played predominantly with a back five until the 60th minute. Only after Nürnberger’s substitution was Kohfeldt able to switch back to the originally planned system; the Lilies now had significantly better control over Magdeburg’s build-up play and thus found their best phase of the match.

In addition to their prolonged inability to gain control of the game against Magdeburg, Darmstadt 98 also suffered from sloppy passing (Holland: „We can do much better than that“), which prevented them from breaking free from the press as desired and (too) often resorted to long balls to Isac Lidberg, as Holland admitted: „Isac had to play against three or four players, the gap was too big. We should have pushed forward faster or played better out of the pressure instead of resorting to long balls. We addressed this at halftime, and things improved after that.“

With this issue in mind, head coach Kohfeldt also admitted that the mix of player types on the pitch that Friday evening was not ideal: „Killi and Fraser are the types of players who threaten from their positions. The mix between players who drop deep and those who look for space wasn’t right today. But there simply wasn’t anyone else available.“

Schmidt, Richter, Klefisch, and Akyiama are more the type of ball-secure combination player who tend to drop back slightly to collect the ball and be involved in the build-up play early on. Luca Marseiler, who frequently makes runs in behind, was often pinned back in his own half due to the tactical setup and consequently had a long way to go after winning possession or during the build-up. This explains the vacancy around Lidberg, who had a tough time today, worked hard, but only got involved in the penalty area in the final stages of the game.

Kohfeldt summarised his insights on the match as follows: „That’s not an excuse, but it explains why we were the weaker team for 60 minutes. Our play wasn’t good, there’s no other way to put it. Considering the deficit and the overall circumstances, we can probably call it a 1-1 win.“

We’ll leave it at that and now turn our attention to the coming weekend. The home game against FC Schalke 04 on Saturday evening (21.03/8.30pm).