Next win! Lilies extend home streak

The Lilies got off to the perfect start in their home match against Hannover 96 and were celebrating after just 30 seconds. The visitors wanted to take a quick free kick, but played the ball into the feet of Fabian Nürnberger. He initiated the counterattack, Isac Lidberg played the ball into the middle, Killian Corredor backheeled the ball to Fraser Hornby, and the Scot coolly slotted the ball into the net (1′). Just a few seconds later, Corredor almost made it 2-0, but Zieler in the visitors goal made a strong save from the volley.

The 98ers continued to press, repeatedly getting into good positions and barely allowing the visitors to develop. It wasn’t until just over 20 minutes that Hannover began to enjoy extended periods of possession in the Darmstadt half, but initially they created few shots on goal.

In the final quarter of an hour of the first half, there 96ers had the better of the game and even had their first dangerous shot, but Marcel Schuhen parried Lee’s shot after 36 minutes. Lee’s next attempt also landed in the arms of the Lilien keeper three minutes later. In the final five minutes, however, the South Hesse side also developed a phase of pressure, and in stoppage time, Guille Bueno had a chance to make it 2-0, but the shot was blocked just in time, and so they went into the break with a narrow lead.

After the break, the game went back and forth, with both teams getting their chances. Five minutes after the restart, the visitors had the first shot on goal, but Moroya’s effort was no problem for Schuhen. Six minutes later, SVD had a great chance to make it 2-0: first, Hornby missed a cross, then Jean-Paul Boëtius was denied by a superb save from Zieler.

The visitors tried hard in the ensuing period, but the Lilies showed discipline and hardly allowed the Lower Saxons any dangerous chances. With about a quarter of an hour to go, things finally got dangerous when a ball trickled through the penalty area, but Clemens Riedel was able to clear it in the end.

Eight minutes before the end, the Lilies had to accept the equaliser: Voglsammer scored for Hannover to make it 1-1. But Darmstadt showed their courage and didn’t let it throw them off track – just two minutes later, Luca Marseiler’s pinpoint cross found Corredor at the far post, who headed home to regain the lead. In the closing stages, Hannover threw everything forward, pushing for an equaliser, but the Lilies defended fiercely and survived the pressure unscathed. They finally sealed the victory in stoppage time: After a quick one-two, substitute Fynn Lakenmacher was brought down by Zieler, and Hornby confidently converted the resulting penalty to make it 3-1 in the 2nd minute of time added on.