A narrow defeat. On Sunday (March 15th/3pm), SV Darmstadt 98's U21 team suffered a 1-0 away loss against SC 1960 Hanau. You can read the match report for the 23rd Hessenliga matchday here.
In the first half, Darmstadt’s U21 team appeared solid. „Above all, their stable defence allowed us to create good counter-attacking opportunities from a good basic formation,“ U21 coach Sebastian Schmitt told sv98.de. However, the young Lilies weren’t always able to capitalise on these opportunities and ultimately convert them into goals. When Darmstadt did get in front of the opposing goal, they lacked that crucial bit of luck. Furthermore, a strong Hanau goalkeeper also stood in the way of Darmstadt taking the lead.
Another hurdle was the pitch condition. The match was moved to a different pitch at short notice. Instead of playing in the stadium as planned, the game was played on the adjacent pitch. The hastily arranged change of venue to a pitch that was partly very sandy and woody forced Schmitt and his coaching staff to adapt their game plan. „It was difficult to exploit spaces as effectively as we would on our usual ground in Hanau,“ Schmitt complained.
In what felt like a 0-0 game, which became somewhat less exciting after halftime, a penalty kick in favour of SC 1960 Hanau would ultimately decide the match. Particularly frustrating was the fact that goalkeeper Benedikt Börner initially saved the penalty, but Hanau capitalised on the rebound, scoring the decisive goal of the day in the 73rd minute.
In the final stages, the young Lilies threw everything forward once more. With fresh legs and a boost from the sidelines, they aimed to equalise. Young players like Keanu Blasa and Esad Smailji, normally with the U19 team, bolstered the U21 squad this weekend with their substitutions. Overall, the U21 team fielded a very young squad for this Hessenliga match. The average age of the team was just 18.94 years.
However, a goal eluded the young U21 team on Sunday. „We lacked the cutting edge to capitalise on the crucial moments,“ Schmitt concluded.
„Our primary focus is on the early integration of young talent, but of course we’re now entering a phase of the season where we also need to achieve results. We’ll be preparing for the match against Waldgirmes with this approach in mind,“ Schmitt explained, looking ahead to next weekend. The SV 98 U21 team will host SC Waldgirmes. Kick-off is at 3pm on Saturday (March 21st). While the young Lilies currently sit in 14th place with 26 points, just one point behind a non-relegation spot, SC Waldgirmes is in 16th place in the Hessenliga table with 22 points.
Line-Up: Börner – Kunstmann, Karakayar (Görtler, 85′), Jaadar (Schnerring, 78′), Schlosser, Klappich (Smailji, 78′), Meier, Herbst (Blasa, 85′), Mignano (Kadrijaj, 70′), Merx, Pfister.
The Bundesliga finalised the match schedules for matchdays three through six on Wednesday (July 15th): Darmstadt's home game against Hannover 96 on matchday three will take place on Sunday. This will be followed by their away game against 1. FC Kaiserslautern on Saturday at 1pm. The home game against Arminia Bielefeld on Friday evening and the away game in Wolfsburg, also on Friday evening, have also been confirmed.
The Lilies can welcome another new arrival at the Böllenfalltor: Florian Kleinhansl will now wear the SV 98 jersey. The 25-year-old joins on a free transfer following the expiration of his contract with 1. FC Kaiserslautern on June 30th.
Third test, third clear victory. SV 98 won the match against FC 08 Homburg 5-1 (3-0).
SV Darmstadt 98 and the fusion energy company Focused Energy are entering into an official partnership. The aim of the collaboration is to more closely link top-level football and high technology from the Darmstadt region and to jointly generate momentum for innovation and future societal issues.
Killian Corredor will be playing in his home country again in the future. SV 98 has reached an agreement with FC Nantes on the transfer of the Frenchman.
On Tuesday (July 14, 6pm), SV Darmstadt 98 hosts Regionalliga side FC Homburg and asks fans to take note of the following information.
A home game against KSV! SV Darmstadt 98 hosts Holstein Kiel for the opening matchday of the 2. Bundesliga season this Saturday (August 8 at 1pm). Here’s how you can be there: the member pre-sale for the new season's first home game begins this coming Wednesday (July 15) at 12pm —available online and at the ticket shop at the Merck-Stadion, as usual. You can find all further details in this announcement.
For every home goal scored by the "Lilies," SV Darmstadt 98 fans were doubly rewarded during the recent 2025/26 second-division season. Beyond the joy and excitement, supporters received 98 litres of Krombacher Pils for every goal Darmstadt scored at the Merck-Stadion am Böllenfalltor.
In recent days, various media outlets have published reports and graphics regarding the distribution of TV revenue for the 2026/27 season. Some of these reports included not only specific figures but also a comparison to the previous season. This comparison indicates a supposed revenue increase of €1.4 million for SV 98 compared to the 2025/26 season.
SV Darmstadt 98 successfully completed their second pre-season friendly, defeating Verbandsliga side VfR Fehlheim 8-0 (4-0).
