Analysis of the Münster draw

The flying Schuhen. Marcel Schuhen didn’t have much to do in the fridge at the Merck Stadium. In temperatures around zero degrees Celsius, the Lilies‘ goalkeeper had to keep his focus for over 90 minutes. Yes, don’t freeze. Just don’t get tired. “Especially in a game like this, where you only get a maximum of one or two balls on goal per half, you always have to be wide awake,” explained Schuhen after the final whistle in the mixed zone. And that was him. When Preußen Münster was able to break away from SV 98’s dominance for a moment in the 86th minute shortly before the end of the game and Charalambos Makridis tested the Darmstadt goalkeeper with a sharp finish from distance, he was wide awake. Keep your concentration high and never switch off. Schuhen did it, as did those in front of him. Played to zero. The well-deserved reward for it.

The Riedel header flying past the post. Sergio Lopez raises his arm in the air, then lowers it again and runs. With a well-taken free kick, he looks for Clemens Riedel in the penalty area. The captain of the Lilies climbs up and heads the ball almost perfectly towards the opponent’s goal. But Riedel’s header in the 71st minute doesn’t fly into the goal, but just a few centimetres past the goal. A scene that was symbolic of SV 98’s 0-0 draw against the promoted team from the west of the Republic. It wasn’t missing much, it was missing nuances. The last bit of precision, the last bit of luck.

The game control. 15 shots on the opponent’s goal. A rate of 89 percent of passes arrived. In addition, a ball possession share of 69 percent. 6:1 corners. 31:7 crosses. Statistics that underlined the dominance of SV Darmstadt 98 on Saturday evening. The Lilies never really allowed the very deep opponent from Münster to come into play, but they allowed the ball to circulate safely through their own ranks. “We had a high degree of control for almost 90 minutes,” praised Kohfeldt, but at the same time complained: “We didn’t find the mix of control and risk today and didn’t create enough clear chances based on our control of the game.” But that’s exactly what happens in a football game , in which the opponent defends extremely well and compactly, even with the most difficult task possible. A topic that the Lilies have to continue working on.

The focus on Defence. And no goals conceded. Something that SV Darmstadt 98 had to wait a long time for in this second division season. “Far too long,” as Marcel Schuhen emphasised. On matchday 14, the Lilies did not concede a goal for the first time. “Finally,” said Clemens Riedel at the microphones. While Preußen Münster almost exclusively waited for Darmstadt’s mistakes, the hosts hardly allowed them. The Lilies defended with concentration and consistency – and if a ball did get through, the South Hesse team could rely on their goalkeeper. “I’m very happy with the defensive behavior,” emphasised Kohfeldt. With almost 70 percent possession of the ball, it took a lot of focus and good remaining defence to avoid counterattack situations from the guests. The Lilies succeeded. Riedel: “It was important that we had good protection despite the dominance, and that was largely successful.”

The Offensive Penetration. Before matchday 14, the Lilies scored an average of 2.9 goals per game under Florian Kohfeldt. An impressive value, the best in the entire league at this stage. But against Preußen Münster, the Blue-Whites were unable to maintain this remarkable hit rate and efficiency on attack. For the first time since the fourth matchday, the Lilies failed to score. And that despite the fact that SV 98 dominated the game for over 90 minutes. “But we couldn’t convert this control of the game into compelling scoring opportunities,” complained Kohfeldt at the press conference after the game. Sure, the Lilies had options. However, these lacked the necessary clarity. “We lacked that last shot of sovereignty on offense,” said the head coach of SV 98. What did he mean by that? The precision in the final third, but also the speed and cleanliness in the passing game before the decisive moments. None of that was there enough to win the game.