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.
On Sunday (Oct 18th), SV Darmstadt 98 will visit Karlsruher SC. The side from Baden differs from the Lilies in several key respects. Furthermore, the match will see SV 98 cross paths with a former player once again. Find out here about other connections between the two clubs, as well as some particularly interesting statistics ahead of the encounter.
On Tuesday evening (October 13th), the SilberLilien took part in SV Darmstadt 98’s Stolperstein tour for the first time. Along the approximately six-kilometre route, the participants made several stops to learn more about the fates of Jewish club members who were persecuted and driven out during the Holocaust.
From new grassroots sports offerings and a look back at the club's history to birthdays and the latest updates from the media briefing—there is plenty to report from SV Darmstadt 98 again this week. In "Lilien Across the Board," we round up the news, insights, and stories from life at the club.
Tickets for the home match against 1. FC Heidenheim on November 22nd are available for purchase now.
SV Darmstadt 98's U21 team proved their mettle at home against KSV Hessen Kassel II in the Hessenliga on Sunday (Oct. 11th). After a convincing 90-minute performance, the Young Lilies secured another three points, finishing with a decisive 4–0 victory that lifts them to sixth place in the standings.
The Lilies overturned an early deficit to celebrate a 3–1 home victory against Energie Cottbus—a win that boosts confidence and confirms the progress being made. Read our analysis to find out why there is still work to be done and what positives SV 98 takes away from the match.
This season, too, Lilien fans will be doubly rewarded for every home goal scored by SV Darmstadt 98. In addition to the joy and excitement of the goals, the team's supporters will receive 98 litres of Krombacher Pils for every home goal scored by Darmstadt at the Merck-Stadion am Böllenfalltor.
After the international break, Darmstadt 98 returned to the Bölle with a home win! Against Energie Cottbus, SV Darmstadt 98 put on a spirited performance in front of their home crowd and rewarded themselves with three points after an intense match. We've compiled the post-match reactions for you here:
Despite falling behind, Darmstadt secured their second consecutive home win! Darmstadt defeated Energie Cottbus 3-1 (1-1). The home side equalised after conceding an early goal in the four-minute period through Weißhaupt before halftime. Vukotic headed his team into the lead in the second half, before Lührs sealed the victory with the third goal. This home win brings Darmstadt's season total to seven points.
Homegame at Böllenfalltor (10/10, 1pm): Florian Kohfeldt has made two changes to his starting XI compared to the away match in Wolfsburg three weeks ago. Richter and Mikelbrencis come into the starting lineup for Sickinger (calf issues) and Lannert (illness).
On Saturday afternoon (October 10th, 1pm), SV 98 hosts Energie Cottbus at the Merck-Stadion am Böllenfalltor for Matchday 7. What do the two head coaches have to say ahead of kick-off? Who is officiating the match, and where can you follow the action live? As always, we have compiled all the key information regarding the game against Cottbus in our "Matchday Guide" feature.
