U21: Successful debut season

SV Darmstadt 98’s U21 team concluded an impressive 2024/25 Hessenliga season with an emotional final match against Türk Gücü Friedberg. In a 3-2 defeat, the young Lilies once again demonstrated their quality and passion – even if it wasn’t enough to secure a victory. A decisive victory by at least three goals would have even put the team in the relegation playoffs for promotion to the Regionalliga.

The day began promisingly: Henry Held gave SV 98 the lead in the first minute with a spectacular goal. For much of the first half, the Lilies played good football, showing courage, presence, and enthusiasm.

In the second half, the visitors equalised through Vetter (48th minute) and later took the lead through Yikilmaz (64th minute). But head coach Daniel Petrowsky’s team showed their courage again: Markus Ballmert equalised in the 75th minute, equalizing at 2-2. Friedberg only managed to score the winner shortly before the final whistle through Polichronakis (86th minute).

Despite the result, SV 98 looks back on a fantastic debut season for the U21’s. Head coach Daniel Petrowsky draws a completely positive conclusion: „We started the season from scratch – without a team, without a place. Today we’re sixth in the Hessenliga, have the second-best defence behind Fernwald, and have promoted two players to the senior squad. That’s a huge success.“

The U21s were founded a year ago with the goal of giving young talent the opportunity to gain match practice in men’s football at an early stage. „It’s incredible to see the leap many players have made. We’ve not only established ourselves athletically, but have also received a lot of recognition from the league – that shows that our philosophy is working,“ said Petrowsky.

In addition to the positive sporting development, the coach also highlights his team’s learning curve: „A lot of it was new territory for us as a coaching team, too. But together we learned how to hold our own in the Hessenliga. And we did that with an incredibly young team. The way we played football makes us want more.“ Last but not least, strong performances like the narrow victories in Alzenau or at home against Baunatal, and combative performances like the one in the season finale, are symbolic of the team’s strength of character.