Analysis of the Hannover Victory

The direct answer to the equaliser: „We hit back cold as ice. That was very important and ultimately the knockout for Hannover,“ explained Philipp Förster after the end of the game, referring to Fabian Nürnberger’s goal to make it 2-1. There were just under four minutes between the hosts making it 1-1 and Darmstadt taking the lead again. A goal that can also be read as a symbol of the current Lilien strength. Setbacks don’t throw the team off course; the knowledge that they can score at any time is firmly anchored at SV 98. Even against an opponent who continues to have the best defense in the league. Florian Kohfeldt’s conclusion was similar: „The quick 2-1 was certainly a bit of luck for us. Overall, it’s not an undeserved victory for us. Especially since we knew that we wouldn’t have many chances to score today.“

His counterpart Stefan Leitl emphasised the “little things in decisions” that his team ultimately made wrong. “Loss of ball, finish – 1-2,” was the 96 head coach’s precise description of the decisive action. For the Lilies, the narrow success after recent rather clear victories also meant another realisation: You don’t always need a spectacle to get three points.

The defensive work: „We knew that a tough game awaited us, which we certainly wouldn’t dominate for 90 minutes,“ said winning goal scorer Fabian Nürnberger after the final whistle. In fact, the first half in particular was divided into two different phases: The Lilies dominated the first 25 minutes, while the hosts increasingly took control of the game in the 20 minutes until the break. Nevertheless, Darmstadt managed to largely contain Hannover’s offensive efforts both in this period and in the phase after the 2-1 win. “We didn’t just put ourselves at the back, we also finished the game cleanly,” summed up Nürnberger with a view to the final phase, while Florian Kohfeldt said that his team acted “very mature” defensively in the final spurt of the game. The Lilies won 56 percent of the duels over the entire season and repeatedly retained control of the air even during the numerous cross attempts by the hosts. Although the first clean sheet of the season is still a long time coming, the steady progress in defensive work is unmistakable.

The substitutes: For weeks, Florian Kohfeldt has been emphasising the breadth of his squad and the impetus that his players give to the Lilies‘ game after their substitutions. In Hanover, too, all the substitutes performed their tasks more than satisfactorily. Merveille Papela continued his recent strong performances in the second half, Fynn Lakenmacher prepared Nürnberger’s winning goal in an exemplary manner, Marco Thiede and Matej Maglica contributed to the stable defence and Tobias Kempe helped secure victory over the team with his routine in the final minutes.

The 1:1: Despite the stable defensive performance, the Lilies also conceded a goal in Hannover. „Of course that shouldn’t happen like that,“ complained Kohfeldt in view of Hyun-Ju Lee’s goal, who equalised after a 96 corner. Marcel Schuhen had previously reacted strongly to a header, but the keeper was powerless when the South Korean followed up. Thanks to Nürnberger’s prompt response, this goal was manageable, but the brief moment of carelessness ensured that the Lilies let their hard-fought 1-0 lead be taken away just a few minutes after Förster’s dream goal. Against Karlsruhe, Ulm and Dresden, the South Hesse team conceded the equaliser almost immediately after taking the lead. In the future it will certainly be a matter of maintaining full focus even in the immediate phase after your own moments of happiness.