Calculations checked off – The Münster draw in analysis

Incorrect pressing and a slip-up. We’ll go into more detail later in this text about what went wrong at the Preußenstadion on that Saturday afternoon. But the „scene of the match“ already provided a small foretaste: the equalising goal. After 62 minutes, the ball suddenly found itself in the SV Darmstadt 98 net. An avoidable goal. And a goal that could have been avoided moments before it went in, far from the danger zone. „But we initiated our pressing incorrectly,“ explained Clemens Riedel. A wrong decision that epitomised the 90 minutes in Münster. The Lilies often played poorly both in their own attack and, especially, defensively in the second half. This allowed Münster to defend a lot of things within the 90 minutes while simultaneously exerting pressure in the second period. This was also the case in the 62nd minute. The false pressing trigger left SCP with a clear path on the Lilies‘ right defensive flank, allowing them to cross precisely into the box. Clemens Riedel was in the right position to head the cross away, but only in the right place. Because the SV 98 captain slipped, Joshua Mees was able to equalise for Münster.

They stood their ground, held their ground. And showed resilience. A key quality with which the Lilies earned this point at the Preußenstadion. Due to SSV Ulm’s 1-0 away win in Fürth on Friday evening, SC Preußen Münster slipped into a direct relegation place overnight. The pressure from SCP? Enormous. The Münster team’s greed and motivation before the duel with the Lilies? At least as great. But that was exactly what Florian Kohfeldt and his coaching staff were preparing the team for. Münster would try to take the edge off us emotionally, the Darmstadt head coach had already warned at the pre-match press conference. The Lilies had to be ready for that, he emphasised.

The men in blue and white were unfazed by the heated atmosphere during the warm-up. They earned a draw in this special atmosphere – and didn’t lose. Even though their performance wasn’t good and the game wasn’t pretty, the South Hesse side remained solid. Naturally, Münster increased the pressure in the second half. But the Lilies fought back. They regularly blocked and headed the ball out of the danger zone, throwing themselves into every possession. Even the leveller and the Münster team’s continued pressure couldn’t change that. They held firm, held their ground.

Safety Guaranteed. When Florian Kohfeldt took over at SV Darmstadt 98, the Lilies had collected just one point after four matchdays and found themselves in 17th place in the table. At the beginning of September last year, there was little indication that SV 98 would secure their place in the 2. Bundesliga with just three matchdays remaining. „Above all, today’s priority is that we’re definitely staying in the league,“ Kohfeldt emphasised in a conversation with the journalists present after the match, and continued: „I would like to express my sincere praise to the team and the staff for this. We had a very, very difficult season with a serious injury crisis in the winter, which continues to this day. To stay in the league on matchday 31 under these circumstances, the team deserves praise.“

It’s also a credit to the Lilies that, despite staying in the league, they weren’t in the mood to celebrate in Münster. „We’ve fulfilled our duty,“ Clemens Riedel said matter-of-factly, assessing the situation. Nothing more, nothing less. The 1-1 draw in Münster wasn’t pretty, and the performance wasn’t good either. Nevertheless, it was an important point that sealed their place in Germany’s second-highest league and the associated planning security for another year in the second division.

Quite a lot. We have to be honest here. Structure, passing, and defensive play in the second half: these were precisely the points Kohfeldt listed at the press conference because he didn’t like them. In attack, the Lilies lacked precision – with the exception of Luca Marseiler’s impressive opening goal. Too often, they hit the ball forward inaccurately without applying pressure, and too often they lacked the necessary precision in the final third. „We have to learn to play simply and clearly in games like these, but not hectically,“ Kohfeldt demanded of his team. Thus, Marseiler’s goal shortly before halftime was the Lilies‘ first and only truly dangerous moment. „We simply couldn’t get into our groove,“ Riedel also admitted after the first 45 minutes.

Darmstadt did have their chances in the second half, but they also made too many wrong decisions when playing out their attacks. More precision would have benefited the Lilies‘ attacking play after the break. „Overall, we didn’t play well today,“ Kohfeldt summed up. The Lilies want to and will work on that. Because even if they’re mathematically safe from relegation, there are still nine points up for grabs in the remaining three matchdays. Let the season fizzle out? Not at all. „We wanted to take the three points with us in Münster,“ said Luca Marseiler, adding emphatically: „That also applies to the next games.“

The injury crisis continues in Münster. It’s unfortunately a tiresome topic this season. The Lilies‘ injury list was once again quite long before the match at the Preußenstadion. SV 98 has been without up to twelve players at times this season anyway – against Münster, they again had eight players without a yellow card, including Merveille Papela’s suspension. And because, in addition to all the long-term injuries, Matej Maglica (calf problems, the ninth injury for the matchday) was also out at short notice, Darmstadt traveled to Münster with only two central defenders. This reduced their options to intervene from the wings and make tactical changes during the game. As Kohfeldt revealed after the final whistle, he would have actually liked to switch to a back three if they had been leading, thus depriving SCP of their opportunities to pose a threat…