Not compelling enough

The 1-0: the goal of the match? It could have been prevented. While this statement applies to a large proportion of goals conceded in a sport defined by errors like football, the Lilien had several opportunities to stop the move that led to Dresden’s opener. „We wanted to commit a tactical foul, but unfortunately, that didn’t come off. After that, we were stretched in the middle and couldn’t track the run in behind,“ Marcel Schuhen analysed after the final whistle, with Florian Kohfeldt adding shortly after: „There were two moments where we needed to step in, and then we opened up a space that we simply shouldn’t have left open. We were punished for it immediately.“

In a match where both teams struggled to create chances in the penalty area throughout the game, Jonas Sterner’s strike proved to be the decisive goal. This was also reflected in the teams‘ xG figures: 0.64 for Dynamo and 0.38 for the Lilien. It was precisely this small margin that led the SV 98 head coach to ultimately describe the hosts‘ victory as „deserved.“

The defence: It took until the 87th minute for Dynamo Dresden—specifically Jakob Lemmer—to register their first promising attempt on goal since taking the lead. Marcel Schuhen tipped the midfielder’s effort against the left post with a fine save. Although the Lilies‘ goalkeeper had also been called into action in the 47th minute, Ben Bobzien’s shot did not pose a genuine threat to the SV 98 captain. Beyond that, the South Hessian defense performed a rock-solid job, denying the hosts any clear-cut chances. This was one positive takeaway Schuhen brought back to Darmstadt despite the defeat: „Defensively, it was fine. The goal we conceded is incredibly frustrating, but we stayed calm afterwards and didn’t lose our heads.“

This stability is particularly noteworthy given that two new signings—Florian Kleinhansl and Christopher Lannert—were occupying the full-back positions, while another new arrival, Carlo Sickinger, started in the defensive midfield role (the „six“) in place of the ill Hiroki Akiyama. In total, six new signings started for SVD in Dresden. Consequently, there was still plenty of room for improvement in attack. Yet, despite the defeat and the changes in personnel, the defensive unit was already functioning impressively well.

Another lesson learned: Following the upheaval of the summer, the Lilies had repeatedly pointed out during pre-season that it would take time for fine-tuning, automatic movements, and team chemistry to click at a high level. Matches like the 1-0 loss in Dresden help in this process. Painful as a defeat is during a phase of team-building, the 90 minutes in the Saxon capital provided plenty of material to work on in the coming weeks of training. The atmosphere at the notoriously loud Rudolf-Harbig-Stadion will help the new signings from abroad, in particular, to find their feet in the 2. Bundesliga. And quite simply, the team grows with every match played together as the players get to know one another better—especially under the pressure of a competitive fixture in this competition. These are points Kohfeldt also incorporated into his overall assessment of the match: „In the coming weeks, it will come down to willpower and refusing to give up, just as much as daily training. Things will soon start working in matches, too, if we stick with it. Losing really sucks, but we still have to focus on the substance of our game.“

Marcel Schuhen echoed this sentiment: „We’re really starting to gel, and things will keep getting better. We’ve brought in some great guys—the defeat doesn’t change that. But of course, football is always about points, and that’s what we want to pick up in the coming weeks.“

Fine-tuning and actions in the final third: this is a point we had to highlight in this section following the match against Kiel as well. In Dresden, too, the Lilien struggled to convert their otherwise solid build-up play into dangerous opportunities in the attacking third. „Our spacing is good, and we’re getting the ball into promising areas. But the automatic patterns of play in the final third aren’t quite there yet,“ said Kohfeldt, elaborating: „We need to play faster and with more purpose going forward so we can create more chances.“

Christopher Lannert also openly addressed this issue after the match: „Spaces were opening up, but we need to exploit them better.“ Furthermore, the Lilien failed to capitalise on set-pieces this Sunday; consequently, Milan Smit’s shot in the 68th minute was the only moment that posed a genuine threat to the goal.

The first 20 minutes: „We slept through that phase,“ Lannert admitted candidly. „Our pressing wasn’t good; Dynamo found it too easy to get out of their own half, we struggled to gain a foothold, and that’s how we conceded the goal.“ The match subsequently became an evenly contested affair with few clear-cut chances, though the South Hessian side was already playing catch-up due to that early deficit.

The sending-off: The Lilien enjoyed arguably their best spell of the match between the 55th and 70th minutes. During this fifteen-minute period, SV 98 managed to pin the hosts back in their own half and came close to an equaliser through Smit. This „momentum“ (Kohfeldt’s word) came to an abrupt halt with the sending-off of Kai Klefisch. „That pulled the plug on us,“ explained Schuhen, and his head coach likewise noted that the dismissal „certainly didn’t help.“ The manner in which the red card—following a prior yellow—came about was also frustrating. Klefisch was booked for loudly complaining to the referee, who quite rightly cautioned the midfielder. It was an unnecessary yellow card, one that Kohfeldt later sharply criticised. The eventual sending-off, however, was a very harsh decision, given that Klefisch had primarily played the ball during the tackle. „After the red card, it became even harder to create scoring chances,“ Schuhen concluded after an afternoon where things had certainly not gone according to plan.