Analysis: Mentality Monster

Matej Maglica’s equaliser in the 78th minute. At halftime, it had seemed highly likely that Darmstadt’s unbeaten run would come to an end on this Saturday afternoon. But the team from southern Hesse found a way back into the game in Braunschweig, with centre-back Maglica scoring two goals to bring his team back into contention.

„I’m obviously very happy about the goals,“ said the 27-year-old Croatian, who finished off a set piece from SV 98 to score the equaliser. „That was brilliantly executed,“ explained Florian Kohfeldt, referring to the build-up to both goals in the second half. „That was exactly the plan.“ Special praise from the head coach went to assistant coach Darius Scholtysik, who had practiced these very same moves with the team during the week. A perfectly weighted cross from Lopez was headed on by Killian Corredor at the far post, where Maglica finished with the composure of a true striker. This goal ultimately secured another point for Darmstadt and was well-deserved reward for a truly strong performance in the second half.

The morale. Darmstadt have already collected a remarkable 15 points this season after falling behind – a league-leading figure in the 2. Bundesliga. And that’s despite the fact that the team from southern Hesse have only been behind nine times in total. A number surpassed by only three other teams. Even before kickoff, broadcaster SKY dubbed Kohfeldt’s team a „mentality monster,“ and the match proved them right. „I have to give the team immense praise for coming back from 0-2 down under these circumstances,“ Kohfeldt summarised after the final whistle. The head coach then elaborated on these circumstances: „The conditions were actually catastrophic. Everything was set up for a defeat. The opponent, the circumstances, and on top of that, we only trained with eleven men on Wednesday. Many players were ill, and we weren’t sure if they could last 90 minutes today. Yesterday we decided that Isac wouldn’t be traveling, then Fraser got sick last night. And then there were those two goals we conceded.“

But Darmstadt shook off all that at halftime, dominated the entire second half, and rewarded themselves with an away point. „To come back from 2-0 down here, I think that’s outstanding,“ said Marcel Schuhen, and even two-goal scorer Maglica gave his teammates a „huge compliment“ for this turnaround.

Of course, Darmstadt would have preferred to avoid being behind at halftime. But the way they handled it was truly commendable.

Creating chances. On a slippery surface and against a very aggressive and physical opponent, Darmstadt, even in the absence of Lidberg and Hornby, repeatedly managed to create dangerous attacking opportunities. Killian Corredor, in particular, had two excellent chances to score in the first half after some well-executed attacking moves, but was thwarted on both occasions by the outstanding Eintracht goalkeeper, Hoffmann. Darmstadt also managed to get the ball into dangerous areas with their structured build-up play on many other occasions, but in some situations, they lacked the necessary decisiveness. „Despite the absences of Isac and Fraser, we were very dangerous offensively,“ summarized Marcel Schuhen, and Kohfeldt emphasised that his team was able to „create chances“ time and again. However, their finishing, especially before halftime, left something to be desired; more on that in the following section.

The finishing: „We were clear on goal twice, that’s a lot for a second division game. We have to score those goals.“ Florian Kohfeldt succinctly summarised the first half. A lead would naturally have played into Darmstadt’s hands, but as is so often the case in professional football, things unfolded differently. Up front, the team from southern Hesse squandered two golden opportunities, and just before the halftime whistle, they were punished twice. „The halftime lead was rather fortunate,“ admitted Braunschweig coach Heiner Backhaus, but SV 98 knew perfectly well that they themselves were responsible for falling behind. Not effective enough in attack, and inattentive at times in defense.

Because at least as frustrating as the missed opportunities were the two situations that led to the goals conceded. Both goals were initiated by long throw-ins from the home side. First, Hiroki Akiyama held onto his opponent’s shirt for a little too long, and the subsequent penalty was justified. Just four minutes later, several players lost track of goalscorer Johan Gomez, allowing him to make it 2-0. „We can’t afford to be like that with throw-ins. We had discussed beforehand that they take long throw-ins. Despite that, we weren’t fully focused on either occasion, and at this level, that’s how you concede two goals,“ explained Maglica, while Kohfeldt summarised: „We made crucial mistakes there.“

Eintracht Braunschweig ruthlessly punished these mistakes, which ruined what had been a largely good first half for SV 98.

The recurring absences. It’s a recurring issue that has plagued SV 98 for several weeks now: short-notice absences. Last week, it was top scorer Isac Lidberg who missed his second consecutive match in Braunschweig due to a thigh injury. But on Saturday morning, Fraser Hornby was also sidelined, forced to withdraw at short notice due to illness. The Lilies were thus missing a significant 28 scorer points in Braunschweig. „We’ll compensate for that within the group,“ said Marcel Schuhen, who also noted, „but it’s clear that Fraser and Isac are outstanding players.“ Maglica was also asked about the absence of the top scorers and admitted: „They are two very important players for us. Of course, the game changes when Isac and Fraser are missing.“

In Braunschweig, Killian Corredor made his first start after a long injury layoff (which brings us back to the topic at hand) and put in a promising performance up front, though he narrowly missed out on a goal on two occasions. Merveile Papela also delivered a solid performance in a more attacking role. Darmstadt consistently finds solutions to compensate for the absence of key players. Of course, it would be even better if they didn’t have to look for such solutions in the future. On a positive note, there’s a good chance that both Lidberg and Hornby will be available for the home game against Düsseldorf.