Lilies miss out on another home win

In the match against Arminia Bielefeld, Darmstadt started with great momentum, just as they had in the cup midweek, and were rewarded after just four minutes: Matej Maglica headed on a corner from Luca Marseiler to Fraser Hornby, whose initial shot was saved by Kersken in the Bielefeld goal, but he remained alert and tapped in the rebound. Six minutes later, the next corner almost proved successful again: this time Hornby laid the ball off to Maglica in the middle, but his shot was just blocked.

Darmstadt 98 dominated the opening phase, allowing little defensively and creating numerous good chances. In the 17th minute, Killian Corredor’s shot from a tight angle after a beautiful pass from Kai Klefisch was saved by the goalkeeper, and two minutes later, Maglica’s header rattled the crossbar.

The visitors equalised completely against the run of play with their first shot on goal: After a throw-in, Sarenren Bazee unleashed a shot on the turn, leaving Schuhen with no chance in the 28th minute. In the immediate counter-attack, Marseiler found himself in front of the visitors‘ goal, but he took a fraction too long and his effort was deflected behind for a corner. Just a minute later, Marseiler broke through again, but this time his effort sailed over the bar. Three minutes later, Isac Lidberg restored the two-goal lead: After a long ball from Marcel Schuhen, he cut inside, beat two defenders, and fired a perfect shot into the top corner with 33 minutes on the clock.

Only in the final minutes of the first half did the visitors threaten Darmstadt’s goal again, but they couldn’t seriously test Schuhen. Darmstadt also had another good opportunity, but Hornby opted for a pass instead of a shot, which, however, was just a touch too long in the second minute of stoppage time. So the teams went into halftime with Darmstadt holding a narrow lead – which could easily have been greater.

Two minutes after the break, Bielefeld started the second half stronger and had the first shot on goal: Schneider tried his luck from distance, but Schuhen played it safe and punched the shot away for a corner. Both teams then had their chances, but neither created any real danger.

It wasn’t until the 65th minute that another opportunity arose: Merveille Papela and Bartosz Bialek combined to find Marco Richter, whose shot was just tipped around the post by Kersken in the visitors‘ goal. Eight minutes later, Bielefeld had better luck – a deflected shot from Großer found the back of the net, leaving Schuhen with no chance, and the visitors celebrated the equaliser.

The game picked up pace again in the final minutes. Nine minutes from time, Darmstadt were fortunate when Grodowski found himself one-on-one with Schuhen but fired his shot just wide. Shortly afterward, Darmstadt increased the pressure again, and just a minute later, Corredor was denied from close range at the other end. Ultimately, however, no further goals were scored, and the match ended in a 2-2 draw.