How does Florian Kohfeldt look at the upcoming away game at FC Schalke 04? What content is the focus of the current training work? And how does the head coach of SV Darmstadt 98 assess the Lilies' sporting situation? Kohfeldt answered these and other questions in the press conference on Wednesday (September 18th). We have summarised the most important statements for you.
Personnel update: In addition to the long-term injury, Oscar Vilhelmsson is still missing with adductor problems.
We’re going into the game with good tension, but no nervousness. We know that the start to the season wasn’t great and we’re not pretending that last Saturday was an explosion and that everything would now work itself out. But there were footsteps. It is important for us this season to develop a game idea and to score consistently in the long term in order to be able to play a worry-free season.
My emotional state looking forward to Friday can be described in one word: awesome. An incredible force is coming at us – of course, first of all, the force of a stadium that is one of the largest and loudest stadiums in Germany. I believe that Schalke as a team is in transition overall. They have communicated that this season is not about attacking the top places, but about playing a stable season. However, you can’t see that in their squad, which is at the absolute top level in the 2nd league, especially in the front positions. They clearly have top league players in their ranks. They play accordingly – very man-oriented and very focused on putting their top players in the spotlight on offense and thus initiating situations.
Immediately after the game, the team was obviously annoyed. On Sunday they weren’t quite sure how to deal with this result. I told them that we can’t be happy because we weren’t good enough in our content after the break. But I also said that we at least have a point in hand. We have seen that if we stick to our content, we are able to create our chances to score in the second division, keep the opponent away from the goal and dominate the game. Overall, the team was self-critical about the party, but also had a very positive look forward.
We will not dominate any opponent for more than 90 minutes. But we prepare the boys on how to deal with rashes – both positive and negative. This week we worked on tactical content as well as individual content, but also on mental aspects and fitness. We can still develop in all areas. We also worked in particular on the topics of offensive position play and rhythm changes. When do we want to play fast? When to calm down the game? There was also the issue of set pieces, which will be important in the league overall, but especially for the game on Friday.
Yes, we ran at the end of training on Tuesday. In that respect, I’m a bit old school as a coach, even though I want to solve a lot of things more about football. Overall, we work with the team on different content – tactical, mental and also physical content. But I don’t define myself by mileage. I look at the result. Of course, you need different athletic profiles for certain game ideas. In this respect we are in the process of developing. But I’m less interested in running 120 kilometers in every game. Rather, we have to run at the right moment and at the right speed.
I was hoping that the question would come to him and I was looking forward to it (grins). Fraser Hornby has scored a goal in every training session over the last ten days. In every training session he had actions that led to goals. He also has incredibly good defensive skills for a striker. I am 100 percent convinced that Fraser will score his goals and will be extremely important for us this season.
Cedric Brunner is not an issue for us. We’ll be looking at Marco Thiede in training this week to see whether he’s a good fit for us. I can already say that he is extremely fit and has a good character. We will then evaluate everything else.
The second consecutive away game, and the last of the season, is upon us. Once again on a Sunday (May 10th, 1:30pm), Darmstadt will be playing away – this time against SC Preußen Münster. Everything you need to know for your final away trip of the season to the LVM-Preußenstadion, about three and a half hours away, can be found here in the usual fan information section.
There's a lot going on at the Bölle. The 98th Darmstadt baby of 2026, along with their family, visited the Merck Stadium at Böllenfalltor, and they weren't the only ones. Where else the Bölle gang has ended up, and many more news items about the club, can be found here in our "Lilies Across the Board" section, as every Wednesday.
SV Darmstadt 98 informed all season ticket holders about the season ticket procedure for the 2026/27 season on Wednesday (May 6th) and would also like to share this letter on the club's own website.
Autographs, photos, and personal encounters with the Lilies: You'll have the opportunity to do so on Thursday (May 7th) from 5pm to 6pm. As part of an autograph session presented by Merck, Patric Pfeiffer, Kai Klefisch, and Fynn Lakenmacher will be at the Merck Stadium at Böllenfalltor. You'll also receive a ten percent discount in the fan shop during this time.
Darmstadt's 2-1 defeat at Karlsruher SC also ended any remaining theoretical hopes the South Hessian club had of finishing the season in the top three. The loss at the Wildpark stadium served somewhat as a symbol for the past few weeks, during which SV 98 had only managed one point from five matches since the international break in March. Following the game on Sunday afternoon, the Darmstadt players addressed the assembled media representatives with mixed feelings.
Three points! SV Darmstadt 98's U21 team secured a victory in the Lotto Hessenliga on Saturday afternoon (May 2nd). In their match against Hünfelder SV, the young Lilies overcame an early deficit to clinch a convincing 3-1 win. This result puts the U21 team currently outside the relegation zone. "Our trend is clearly upward," said a delighted U21 coach Sebastian Schmitt.
The successful collaboration between the Hessian Disabled and Rehabilitation Sports Association (HBRS) and SV Darmstadt 98 will continue long-term: Both partners have extended their existing agreement to promote inclusive sports indefinitely. This sends a clear signal for the sustainable development of inclusion and disability sports in Hesse.
A bitter end in Karlsruhe: After 90 entertaining minutes in which both teams sought salvation in attack, Darmstadt suffered a narrow defeat. The final score was 2-1 after a late goal from the home side, following Isac Lidberg's earlier equaliser. After the match, the players were particularly frustrated with the missed opportunities in the first half.
The away form continues to be poor: SV 98 suffered a 2-1 (0-0) defeat against Karlsruher SC. Lidberg scored the equaliser for the team from southern Hesse in the 70th minute.
Darmstadt 98 visit Karlsruher SC on matchday 32 (May 3rd, 1:30 PM). Florian Kohfeldt has made five changes to his starting lineup. Killian Corredor replaces the injured Fraser Hornby, Aleksandar Vukotic comes in for the suspended Patric Pfeiffer, and Fabian Holland starts in place of Matej Maglica, who is sidelined with an ankle injury. Merveille Papela and Niklas Schmidt also join the team, replacing Sergio Lopez and Yosuke Furukawa. In addition to Hornby, Pfeiffer, and Maglica, Darmstadt will also be without the injured Matthias Bader, Fabian Nürnberger, and Luca Marseiler.
Finally, the weekend is here, finally Sunday! On Sunday afternoon (May 3rd, 1:30pm), SV Darmstadt 98 will face Karlsruher SC away. What do the two coaches have to say about the match, who will be refereeing, and where can you watch it if you're not at the stadium? All the important information about the Lilies' 32nd matchday is compiled for you here in "Matchday Guide".
Continuity in sporting management: SV Darmstadt 98 has extended Paul Fernie's contract early and for the long term. As part of the contract extension, the current sporting director will move into the club's management board and will now serve as managing director of sport.