“Suck it up, men! “Suck it up!” Marcel Schuhen shouted at his teammates after the final whistle. There they were, lined up in front of the guest block, raising their arms together with over 2,000 Lilien fans who had traveled with them. “Suck it up!” What he meant by that: Channel those emotions after the final whistle. The feeling of victory. Take the joy of one of the most spectacular away three points and the boost of this incredible comeback with you into the new working week.
After 38 minutes, it certainly didn’t look like the Lilies could have celebrated anything after the final whistle. Ron Schallenberg had just scored Schalke’s third goal. “Of course, after the third goal, you briefly think that everything is going in the wrong direction,” Marcel Schuhen admitted honestly. Florian Kohfeldt also assessed the situation in a similar way after this significant deficit: “Normally you can’t come back after a first half like that. Normally you can’t win a game like that after 3-0.”
You should never give up believing something!
But: “We did it today,” said the SV 98 head coach happily. Because the Lilies showed an outstanding mentality and incredible morale. Because despite these blows in the neck, they became more and more courageous in the first half of the game and got back into the game thanks to Fraser Hornby’s penalty. The number 9 of the SVD? A good example of courage anyway: He played a crucial bad pass before the score was 0-1, but then he grabbed the ball in front of Schalke’s north curve and converted confidently and ice-coldly from the spot. A hit that made people believe. “You should never give up believing in something. It suits us very well today,” summarised Schuhen in his statement after the final whistle. The story of the game: 0:3 became 5:3 – thanks to goals from Hornby, a hat-trick from Isac Lidberg and the final goal from Sergio Lopez. A spectacular and celebrated away win for the Lilies that “feels incredibly good,” as Lidberg made clear.
…that the Lilies didn’t show what they had planned in the first half, especially defensively. In addition, FC Schalke 04 could have put the lid on the game with two top-class chances after the restart, which Schuhen was able to prevent with two strong saves. “Especially against the ball, what we played before the break doesn’t work at all,” said Kohfeldt angrily. At halftime, the head coach, who had only been in office for a good two weeks, made crucial changes. “He made a very small change during the break, but it was huge,” revealed Schuhen and added: “We had incredible power on the pitch after the break, everyone wanted to have the ball. A special body language has emerged. That was exceptionally good.” In any case, Kohfeldt works every day to instill his game idea in the team, which they are now getting better at implementing. Of course, experiences of success help. “You believe in ideas when they are successful,” says Schuhen. And the head coach’s ideas were successful on Friday evening.
The first win in the league, a very special one at that. How much confidence and boost can these three points give the team? Florian Kohfeldt was asked this at the press conference in the catacombs of the Veltins Arena. “Of course, this game can certainly give us a big boost,” emphasised the head coach of SV 98, but at the same time made it clear: “But we can’t rely on it.” After all, it was only one game, and in the end only the first three points for the current season.
There is still a lot of work ahead of the Darmstadt team, who will host 1. FC Magdeburg in the Merck Stadium at Böllenfalltor next Saturday afternoon (September 28th/1pm). “We need to use the boost sooner to continue working on our content,” said Kohfeldt, who specifically meant football-tactical as well as mental and athletic content. Only in the Magdeburg game will we see how much of Schalke’s emotions the team absorbed and channeled, and how much they were able to use the boost from Gelsenkirchen to work on their content in training.
After 13 unbeaten second-division matches, SV Darmstadt 98 suffered their first defeat this Friday evening. Three unfortunate minutes just before halftime, during which Patric Pfeiffer was sent off and Vincent Vermeij scored twice, paved the way for Dresden's victory. After the match, the focus was primarily on the differing assessments of two very similar incidents by the refereeing team – incidents which both coaches subsequently evaluated identically.
For the first time since October, Darmstadt 98 finished a league match without any points: SV 98 lost 3-1 (2-0) to SG Dynamo Dresden. After a controversial red card against Patric Pfeiffer (42nd minute), the home side scored two goals in first-half stoppage time to secure the victory.
Under the floodlights at the Rudolf-Harbig-Stadium. On Friday evening (February 27th/6:30pm), Darmstadt 98 will play away against Dynamo Dresden. Florian Kohfeldt has made three changes to his starting eleven. Raoul Petretta makes his first start, replacing Fabian Holland. Luca Marseiler starts in place of the suspended Marco Richter, and Hiroki Akiyama replaces Fraser Hornby, who is sidelined with a thigh injury. Fabian Nürnberger, Matthias Bader, and Bartosz Bialek remain unavailable due to injury.
A floodlit match at the Rudolf-Haribig-Stadion is always something special. Darmstadt 98 are aiming to take three points back to southern Hesse this Friday evening (February 27th). Kick-off is at 6:30pm. All the important information about the 24th matchday of the 2. Bundesliga is clearly summarised for you in our "Matchday Guide".
Darmstadt 98 aim to extend their unbeaten run to 14 games in Friday evening's match against Dynamo Dresden. While Darmstadt's potent attack has resulted in a respectable goal tally, they are wary at the Rudolf-Harbig-Stadion. The Saxons have been on an upward trend since the winter break and will have a vociferous home crowd behind them. We've compiled all the facts and figures surrounding this clash in this report. Here you'll find the key facts for tomorrow's match.
Darmstadt and Dresden are 598 kilometres apart. On Friday evening (February 27th, 6:30pm), SV Darmstadt 98 will travel to the Saxon capital for the 24th matchday of the 2nd Bundesliga. The next away game will take place under the floodlights at the historic Rudolf-Harbig-Stadion. You can find all relevant fan information here.
Before SV Darmstadt 98 plays under floodlights in Dresden on Friday evening (27.02/18.30), Florian Kohfeldt spoke at the press conference about the strengths of Dynamo Dresden and the special atmosphere in the Rudolf-Harbig-Stadion.
Raoul Petretta joined SV Darmstadt 98 in the winter and already feels very much at home. He talks about his arrival and his goals. Besides their sporting focus, the Lilies are also committed to sustainability: On March 15, 2026, over 3,500 trees will be planted as part of the fifth "In the Sign of the Lily" tree-planting campaign. In our "Lilies Across the Board" section, we provide you with the most important news from SV Darmstadt 98 every week.
Numerous Dynamo Dresden fans flock to the stadium on home match days. But one day, they came for a single reason: What should their stadium be called in the future? Tens of thousands of supporters gathered in front of the Rudolf-Harbig-Stadion, ready to cast their votes. In cooperation with regional partners, Dynamo Dresden's management took the unusual step of letting the club's supporters decide for themselves.
WirLilien – Together for nature conservation! Together with our partner Krombacher, we will once again plant more than 3,500 trees on Sunday (March 15th) – under the banner of the Lily. You can still register for the event at short notice.
On Friday (February 27th, 7:30pm), SV Darmstadt 98's U21 team begins the second phase of their Hessenliga season. With 23 points after 20 matchdays, the Lilies are currently in 14th place. Following intensive weeks of winter training, the team aims to start the upcoming challenges with renewed energy and secure crucial points.
A fast-paced, thrilling exchange between SV Darmstadt 98 and Fortuna Düsseldorf reached its ecstatic climax in the 88th minute. Thanks to Matej Maglica's header, Darmstadt secured a 2-1 victory in a wild battle that resembled a 12-round boxing match, with both sides neglecting their defences and constantly searching for the next hook or punch. A day later, sv98.de looks back on what was probably the most exciting home game of the season so far for the South Hessian side.
