Sovereign

Hornby’s 2-0. „Fraser so deserved that goal.“ Florian Kohfeldt had a broad grin on his face in the post-match interviews when asked about Fraser Hornby’s 2-0 goal. It was the first goal of the season for the striker, who had to wait six games for this moment and yet has had an „outstanding“ (Kohfeldt’s own words) season so far. On Friday evening, the Scot not only celebrated another impressive performance and his goal, but the 2-0 goal shortly after halftime also put the Lilies on the road to victory.

„Fraser contributes so much to our game and is extremely crucial for us. He creates space and organises our pressing,“ Kohfeldt said explicitly, describing Hornby’s importance to SV 98. The praised player himself explained: „I’m very happy about my goal. It could have happened much earlier this season, but we’ve had a very good start to the season as a team, and I was able to contribute, even though I hadn’t been on the scoresheet before.“

This finally happened, ensuring that SV 98, with a 2-0 lead behind them, delivered a very controlled and confident performance and secured a comfortable home victory. Hornby himself was substituted in the 82nd minute to chants and a standing ovation.

The defence. Dynamo Dresden had their most dangerous shot of the match in the 95th minute, when Jakob Lemmer curled a shot just wide of the far post. Throughout the entire game, the Lilies didn’t allow the visitors any big chances; their defensive unit worked excellently, with head coach Kohfeldt explicitly highlighting the contribution of the forward players: „We never stopped pressing and attacking. The foundation for our game and results is that the four attackers and the two defensive midfielders maintain their intensity. These are important runs, and I give the boys credit for constantly doing that.“

The back four of Sergio Lopez, Patric Pfeiffer, Aleksandar Vukotic, and newcomer Leon Klassen also performed their duties convincingly, while goalkeeper Marcel Schuhen had a comparatively quiet evening with regard to his core business of keeping the ball. The goalkeeper has kept a clean sheet in four of the seven matches so far, and SV 98’s collective team is working well, even when one player has to step in for another. Leon Klassen delivered a „very solid performance in the best sense of the word,“ fully justifying the head coach’s confidence. Which brings us directly to the next positive point:

The competition: It may be a cliché, but „competition is good for business.“ The Lilies are currently a good example of this. In almost every position, there are players who put pressure on the starting eleven with their performances in training or playing time. „Marseiler, Papela, Boetius, Maglica, Bialek. We have a few who are pushing for the starting lineup. That’s a good thing,“ explained Florian Kohfeldt, who regularly speaks of the „favourite headaches“ that the positive personnel situation is causing him.

Lidberg/Hornby: The Lilies‘ strike duo was the main topic of the evening. One, Lidberg, now has seven goals in seven matches. The other, Hornby, scored for the first time and has already assisted four. It’s no wonder, then, that the two were repeatedly asked about their special connection. „They’re completely different types on the pitch, but also best friends off it. Isac lurks on the back line, plays physically, and makes a lot of deep runs. Fraser gets into the spaces, feels comfortable there, has a very good finish, and organises our pressing,“ Kohfeldt summarised at the press conference, having previously explained to Sky: „The two of them together, that’s really good.“

Phases of possession. First of all: The heading „That didn’t go well“ is too harsh here. „There was still room for improvement“ might be more appropriate in this case. Or we could use Florian Kohfeldt’s words: „We weren’t great with the ball today.“

The Lilies, especially in the first half hour, failed to fully exploit the space available; Kohfeldt observed „some hectic actions.“ „We won the ball a lot in the back line, even in the first half. If we stay calmer there, we can get even clearer shots,“ the head coach elaborated, with whom Marco Richter also agreed: „One or two passes didn’t work so well, but after a 2-0 lead, I don’t want to complain too much.“ We see it the same way.

The exploitation of scoring opportunities in the second half: „I would have preferred a bit more determination in the transitions,“ revealed Kohfeldt, referring to large stretches of the second period in which SV 98 were absolutely dominant after going 2-0 up, but failed to add a third or fourth goal. „I had the feeling the boys wanted to set each other up. That’s a positive trait and speaks volumes about the team structure,“ said the Lilien head coach, who didn’t want to dwell on the missed opportunities too long. Hornby also admitted that both he and his strike partner Lidberg could have scored more goals, but then put a final point on the evening and this section with his final sentence: „But the most important thing is the three points.“