How does Florian Kohfeldt view his team's away record ahead of Sunday's match against SpVgg Greuther Fürth? How does he assess the Cloverleaf's defence, and what is the mood within the team? The Darmstadt head coach answered these and other questions at the press conference on Friday before the game in Fürth (April 19th, 1:30pm). We have summarised the most important statements from our head coach's press conference for you.
Personnel update: Luca Marseiler (torn cruciate ligament) and Grayson Dettoni (ill) are unavailable.
We haven’t scored enough goals or created enough scoring opportunities in the last two games. But I see the games differently. Bielefeld was the only team that completely fell apart, and that’s remarkable, considering it’s only matchday 29.
In Hannover, we were in a lot of dangerous areas, but then we couldn’t finish the play cleanly. Of course, you can talk about Luca creating a lot of space, and Isac is a top striker whose absence we’ve been missing. But we don’t want to make excuses. I can also see in training with the guys who played that we’re on the upswing again.
We need to start picking up points again, but I’m not too worried about our overall performance and form. We shouldn’t let that fool us, though: Fürth’s record of conceding the most goals stems from the first half of the season when they had bigger problems. They’ve stabilised considerably now.
We need a mix of patience and a willingness to take risks in the final third. We have to be ready to press high up the pitch in crucial areas. If we make mistakes, we have to use them as an opportunity and win the ball back through counter-pressing.
We’re the team in the league that’s gone the longest without an away win. But internally, it doesn’t feel like we have an away-game problem. It’s not about external factors, because we’ve created extremely professional conditions over the last 20 months. We need to have the courage to believe in away games too, the same belief we always have at home: no matter how long it takes, we’ll eventually impose our game. That’s what sets us apart at home, and we need to emphasise that even more when we’re away.
For the past three to four weeks, we’ve been able to establish a training rhythm again. I can see that the team’s basic performance level shows we’re getting back to the form we had for much of the first half of the season. We were disappointed on Saturday evening. But we trained well on Sunday, then took two days off, and since Wednesday, we’ve been feeling that familiar buzz about the game in Fürth.
We’re considering the mental aspect as relevant before it actually becomes critical. We’ve been working with a sports psychologist since the start of the season. We’re constantly working on it, so it’s nothing out of the ordinary for us. In competitive sports, you always have to get into the right frame of mind. Just because we’ve lost two games doesn’t change the atmosphere in the locker room. Our advantage is that this season will always be considered a good one for us. But that doesn’t mean we don’t want to. We want to because we’re athletes, not because we have to. That’s a huge mental advantage. I don’t see any lack of self-confidence. We know what we’re capable of. We need to develop the confidence that we will impose our game, because we are entitled to that after the season so far.
I’m in contact with Paul and I’ve often told him how much I value him and that it was more a matter of timing that prevented him from stepping into the role he was given. Since he’s been in Fürth, I’ve also spoken to him on the phone and I’m following his excellent second half of the season very closely.
Killi’s problems started in the training camp, where we couldn’t yet get a clear diagnosis because it was a very complex situation. I’m still very grateful that our doctors invested so much time and effort. Then it was a relatively long road back to the pitch for him. When a player puts himself at the service of the team for months, doesn’t train regularly, but still makes appearances for the team, it’s rare for his form to improve. He deserves all my respect for putting the team first. He’s been able to participate in every training session again for the last two or three weeks, and it shows.
The same applies to Fabi Nürnberger. He’s been able to train fully again since the start of the international break in March. Against Hannover, I thought he was significantly stronger, and I sense in him what I sense in many players: they’re approaching their top form again. That’s why I’m optimistic that we can push both of them close to their limits and that they can then help us, as they already have, as key players.
On Sunday (April 19th/1:30pm), Darmstadt 98 will play away against Greuther Fürth. To ensure you are fully prepared for the away match against the Cloverleaf, we have compiled all the important information for your visit to the stadium.
It was the sixth matchday of the 2017/18 season, a sunny Sunday in September, and the second division fixture between SpVgg Greuther Fürth and Fortuna Düsseldorf was on the schedule. With Florian Neuhaus, Friedhelm Funkel, and Serdar Dursun on or off the pitch, the duel ended 3-1 for Fürth – thanks in part to a brace from Dursun. At first glance, probably just a typical second division victory. But historically significant and unforgettable for everyone in Fürth.
Greuther Fürth hosts Darmstadt. SV Darmstadt 98 will visit SpVgg Greuther Fürth on Sunday (April 19th). Kick-off in Franconia is at 1:30 pm. Can the team from southern Hesse continue their winning streak against Fürth? And will Florian Kohfeldt and Isac Lidberg continue their winning streaks against Greuther Fürth? As usual, we've compiled the most important facts and figures about the match for you in our Top Facts.
From the early 1980s, he was active in the service of SV Darmstadt 98 for almost four decades: We Lilies congratulate the former team doctor of SVD, Dr. Michael Weingart, most sincerely on his 75th birthday this Wednesday (April 15th)!
There are five games left in the season, meaning a total of 15 points are still up for grabs. But Darmstadt's focus is entirely on Sunday's match (April 19th, 1:30pm) against Greuther Fürth. From the media briefing with Fabian Nürnberger, from the hockey pitch to San Antonio: We report on all these topics and many more. As usual, you can find all the latest news from SV 98's club life here in our weekly column "Lilies Across the Board."
SV 98 mourns the loss of its former player Roger Prinzen, who passed away suddenly and unexpectedly on Monday evening (April 13th) at the age of 57.
The long wait for a point is over! After four consecutive defeats, SV Darmstadt 98's U21 team finally secured some points. On their home turf, the young Lilies drew 1-1 against TSV Eintracht Stadtallendorf last Saturday (April 11th). Looking at the league table, it was clear even before the match that it wouldn't be easy, as a full ten places separated the two teams in the LOTTO Hessenliga standings. However, the Lilies' U21 team remained evenly matched with the seventh-placed side and collected a crucial home point.
This match is a tradition – at least at the veterans' level: The SV Darmstadt 98 veterans team visited Real Madrid for the third time. The game was played last Thursday (April 9th) at the "Royal Whites'" training ground in the Valdebebas district of Madrid.
The season is drawing to a close, and SV Darmstadt 98's penultimate away match takes them to the Wildpark stadium. On Sunday (May 3rd, 1:30pm), SV 98 will be playing away against Karlsruher SC. We need a large turnout of Darmstadt fans to support them. Advance ticket sales for club members begin next Wednesday (April 15th) at noon. All ticket information can be found in this announcement.
It happened in their 15th home game of the season. Darmstadt lost on their own turf. Deservedly so. Although SV 98 tried everything against the visitors from Hannover until the final whistle, the Lower Saxons proved too strong on Saturday evening. In our analysis, we take another look at the match.
For the first time this season, SV Darmstadt 98 finished a match at the Merck-Stadion am Böllenfalltor without any points. The Lilies offered more resistance to Hannover 96's two goals in the second half. However, the pressure exerted by the South Hessians at the end proved fruitless. Read here what the players and both head coaches had to say about the defeat, which Darmstadt considered deserved overall.
