Home win! Successful end to the season

In the final match of the season against SSV Jahn Regensburg, the fans at the Böllenfalltor were celebrating after just a few seconds: A cross from Fabian Nürnberger narrowly missed Isac Lidberg in the middle, but Fraser Hornby received the ball at the far post and slotted it into the far corner. However, the goal was disallowed as VAR showed the ball had struck Hornby on the arm.

Shortly afterward, Hornby had another opportunity: Following a corner from Tobias Kempe, he headed the ball wide on 6 minutes.

In the seventh minute, the visitors threatened for the first time. An errant cross from Ganaus forced goalkeeper Marcel Schuhen to make a save – he just managed to deflect the ball for a corner. This promptly led to Regensburg’s lead: The ball landed at the feet of Wurm, who scored from close range to make it 1-0.

The game then largely lost momentum. It wasn’t until the 24th minute that things got dangerous again: Kempe attempted a shot on the turn, but his shot was deflected and landed on the net. The subsequent corner also posed a threat, but Kai Klefisch narrowly missed the cross in the middle.

The next chance fell to Lidberg: The Swede made a strong run at his marker, but was denied by the opposing keeper from a tight angle (36′). Thus, the Lilies went into the halftime break without scoring, but narrowly behind.

Two minutes after the break, Isaac Lidberg made his first impact when he fired the ball into the side netting after an attack down the left flank. Just a few minutes later, Nürnberger tried his luck from the edge of the penalty area – but his shot went over the bar after 51 minutes.

In the 54th minute, the visitors almost made it 2-0: Regensburg launched a quick counterattack, but Kai Klefisch made a powerful sliding tackle in the nick of time, preventing a dangerous shot.

The Lilies‘ response came in the 57th minute: After a cross from Andreas Müller, the ball bounced to Hornby, who calmly fired into the far corner. This time, his goal counted – a deserved equaliser for Darmstadt.

The emotional highlight of the day came in the 62nd minute, when Kempe left the Böllenfalltor pitch to applause from the guard of honour of teammates and staff.

Two minutes later, Hornby fired in a cross from substitute Killian Corredor, turning the game in favour of the South Hesse side.

Two minutes before the final whistle, Marcel Schuhen once again saved his team, making a strong save from Suhonen’s close-range shot and deflecting it for a corner. In stoppage time, Corredor broke through in the penalty area and was fouled. Although he subsequently missed the resulting penalty, Müller was quickest to react and convert the rebound to make it 3-1. The Lilies thus finished the season in 12th place.