Analysis: A Wild Ride

The 3-2: Considering the rollercoaster ride in Bochum, we chose the goal that made it 3-2 as the defining moment of the match. The entire sequence surrounding Bochum’s Leandro Morgalla’s forced own goal perfectly encapsulated this crazy encounter. We’ve therefore broken down this moment into three sub-points:

Footballing brilliance: The match featured numerous moments showcasing exceptional individual skill and technical quality. Highlights included Marco Richter’s assist for Fraser Hornby, the Scotsman’s own brilliant finish, and Bochum’s Philipp Hofmann’s elegant chip for the temporary 2-1 lead. Darmstadt’s 3-2 goal also stemmed from a moment of brilliance: „A world-class pass from Paddy Pfeiffer and a superb run by Luca Marseiler,“ Florian Kohfeldt explained, highlighting the key factors behind Darmstadt’s renewed lead in the 68th minute. Pfeiffer delivered a perfectly weighted free kick from deep in his own half, finding Marseiler in an ideal position, who was then able to race clear on goal against Bochum goalkeeper Timo Horn. Which brings us to the next point…

Chance conversion: Marseiler’s initial shot was brilliantly saved by Horn, before the ball rebounded off Marseiler’s thigh and was subsequently deflected over the goal line by Morgalla. This circuitous route to the goal didn’t dampen the Lilies‘ celebrations, of course, but the scene was telling, as even Kohfeldt had to admit: „Luca alone deserved at least one goal today, probably even three.“ Because despite the three away goals, the Lilies still squandered several opportunities in Bochum.

Defensive errors: As brilliant as Pfeiffer’s pass was, the brief lapse in concentration in the Bochum defence certainly contributed to the goal. „There was a lot of madness involved today. We shouldn’t have conceded our first two goals, but Bochum will say the same about our third,“ Marcel Schuhen summarised after the game, thus finding the perfect closing words for our commentary in this section.

Creating chances: „We created clear chances from our structure, I have to praise the lads for their positional play,“ said head coach Kohfeldt, who focused his comments particularly on his team’s first half and also placed his conclusion in an overall assessment: „The big difference was: Almost all the chances we had were created from open play. We at least politely accompanied many of Bochum’s opportunities.“

Just 28 seconds in, Luca Marseiler had the first chance after a very well-executed attacking move and cross from Sergio Lopez. Marseiler followed the exact same pattern again in the 25th minute. The equaliser, 2-2, by Isac Lidberg, also came after an attack down the right flank and a pass from Lopez. This was part of the game plan that Darmstadt were able to implement effectively in attack, at least in the first 45 minutes. Kohfeldt spoke of Darmstadt’s „systematic footballing superiority“ before the break, and the creation of good scoring opportunities was a striking aspect of this dominance.

The mindset: Naturally, Darmstadt were extremely annoyed about the mistakes leading to the first two goals. But at the same time, it was remarkable how the team dealt with these self-inflicted setbacks. Shortly after going down 1-2, Darmstadt equalised through Isac Lidberg, with the assist coming from Lopez, who hadn’t looked his best on the first goal and thus redeemed himself in the best possible way. Darmstadt have now collected a total of 13 points after falling behind, the best record in the second division, with Kohfeldt’s team only trailing seven times in total – a figure surpassed by only three other teams.

At this point, we’d like to expand the „mindset category“ to include self-criticism. None of the Darmstadt players seemed truly satisfied with their own performance. „Overall, we didn’t play a good game,“ admitted Marcel Schuhen, and Isac Lidberg also stated that his team hadn’t shown „their best performance.“ At the same time, the Swedish striker immediately drew a forward-looking conclusion: „Mistakes can always happen, but of course there were too many today. There are some things we need to learn from.“

This dissatisfaction after an away draw against a Bundesliga relegated team in good form shows that Darmstadt have high expectations of themselves. And they want to live up to them.

Individual errors in defence: „We made mistakes that you simply can’t make.“ Florian Kohfeldt’s analysis was characteristically clear and concise. The head coach’s frustration with the lapses leading to the first two goals stemmed from the fact that he had addressed this issue again before the match: „We said beforehand that we mustn’t open the door. Today, we opened it far too often.“ Francis Onyeka (11th minute) and Philipp Hofmann (27th minute) strolled through the gaping door and scored for VfL Bochum, while two or three further defensive lapses by SV Darmstadt 98 went unpunished.

Large stretches of the second half: It would be wrong to speak of a truly poor second half for Darmstadt. SV 98 defended quite solidly for long periods and, as is well known, scored the goal to make it 3-2. And yet, there was plenty of room for improvement in the second half, as even the Lilies admitted: „Our ball control was poor,“ said Marco Richter, looking back on the second half, while Fabian Holland summarised: „In the second half, we sat too deep and didn’t win enough challenges.“ The logical consequence was a kind of sustained pressure from the hosts, who were able to pin SV 98 deep in their own half and unleash a „force,“ as Kohfeldt had to admit. Thus, VfL Bochum deservedly scored the equaliser to make it 3-3, which ultimately meant a draw, a result that not only Kohfeldt described as „probably fair.“