Analysis: The right trick

The opening goal: Luca Marseiler later called it the „game opener,“ and he hit the nail on the head. The tireless SV 98 winger was, of course, referring to Isac Lidberg’s goal in the 48th minute. It was the Swede’s 13th goal of the season and his 27th in the 2. Bundesliga in his 50th appearance in the league. Even more important than these statistics, however, was the impact the beautifully executed goal had on the game. Darmstadt quickly added a second goal to make it 2-0 and secured a comfortable home victory.

It should also be noted that Sergio Lopez, who provided the assist, recorded his fifth of the season. Not bad for a full-back.

Almost the entire second half: Darmstadt had already put in a decent performance in the first half, but initially struggled to launch their attacking moves after the 26th minute, despite having a man advantage against a deep-lying Kiel side. „After the red card, the game was very sluggish; the net playing time until halftime must have been very short,“ summarised Niklas Schmidt, before the scorer of the 2-0 goal added: „We did very well after the break.“

With equal numbers, the South Hessians faced Kiel with an adapted system: Kai Klefisch operated as part of a back three when out of possession, Luca Marseiler (left) and Sergio Lopez (right) occupied the wing-back positions, Hiroki Akiyama started as a clear holding midfielder, while Merveille Papela and Niklas Schmidt played as central midfielders. This system suited the opponent while simultaneously allowing most players to utilise their preferred positions. These considerations yielded many positive signs in the first 26 minutes, but after Kiel’s Müller was sent off and the resulting change in the visitors‘ pressing game, the system no longer perfectly reflected the flow of the match.

Florian Kohfeldt took the time before halftime to reflect and then make adjustments in the locker room. Successfully. „We deliberately said until halftime that we wouldn’t go all out,“ the head coach revealed afterward, explaining that he had decided early on to make the changes at halftime to avoid having to react to the numerical advantage with immediate substitutions during the first half and thus having to move players to different positions.

„During the break, we were able to adjust calmly. We wanted to keep possession, tire out the opponent, and then create the decisive opportunities. We did that very well.“

Raoul Petretta replaced the booked Papela, and SV 98 switched to a back four. Kai Klefisch partnered Hiroki Akiyama, while behind Isac Lidberg, Luca Marseiler, Marco Richter, and Niklas Schmidt formed an extremely dynamic and versatile attacking trio. The following half saw two quick goals, plenty of attacking flair, and further missed opportunities. Moreover, Darmstadt managed to keep a clean sheet, allowing Marcel Schuhen to secure his tenth clean sheet of the season. In short: simply a good 45 minutes.

The squad depth: With Fabian Nürnberger, Fraser Hornby, Killian Corredor, Patric Pfeiffer, Matthias Bader, and Bartosz Bialek all unavailable, Darmstadt 98 were missing six players on Saturday, all of whom are either regular starters or at least part of the extended starting lineup. The fact that SV 98 still managed a comfortable victory speaks volumes about the quality of the squad from southern Hesse. And about the mindset of the players who stepped up to fill in and immediately delivered. „Schuh put it brilliantly in his pre-match speech: We are not individual players, but Darmstadt 98,“ Florian Kohfeldt revealed afterward. It couldn’t be summed up better.

A brief period after the 2-0 lead. Florian Kohfeldt wouldn’t be Florian Kohfeldt if he didn’t find at least one small point of criticism, even after a commanding and comfortable 2-0 home victory. On Saturday afternoon, the Darmstadt head coach identified this in the minutes following the 2-0 goal, during which his team acted a little „sloppily,“ as the 43-year-old put it. „We played a chipped pass, did this and that, and weren’t as attentive in our defensive positioning,“ Kohfeldt criticised, but immediately clarified: „However, we recovered quickly.“

Nevertheless, it’s important for the coach to address such phases, even in the moment of victory, because he knows full well that in this league, a brief lapse in concentration can be enough to decide victory or defeat. And that’s true on every single matchday.