“Want to reward ourselves at the weekend” | Promotion!

The unfortunate draw from last weekend is still in the lilies‘ bones. Looking back on the game, Fabian Holland also noted this in a media round on Wednesday (February 28): “It was a real punch in the face. You could tell how much we wanted the three points and how much it would have been good for us.“ Nevertheless, the captain also took positive things from the 1-1 draw on the Weser: „The last few minutes showed that we were in the game and want to win with a good team. We are ready to fight for victory until the last few minutes and we have the strength and power to do so. We never give up and keep going until the last minute.”

The last appearances certainly give hope for SV 98. In Gladbach and Bremen as well as at home against Stuttgart, the Lilies were close to the three points they longed for. “If you work well, and we do, you will be rewarded at some point. The victory will come at some point and we want to achieve it this weekend. “You won’t see anyone giving up or burying their head in the sand,” said the 33-year-old combatively. The team has become more stable and the balance between defense and offense is better than in the first half of the season. With FC Augsburg, Holland is expecting a “dirty opponent” who will “demand everything” from the Lilies, especially in the duels. The man with the number 32 on his shirt absolutely wants to score three points against Augsburg and firmly believes in staying in the league: “The mood in the team is good. We want to reward ourselves at the weekend. We still have enough games to turn it around and show that we are right in the league.”

With a clear 85:54 victory over BC Neu-Isenburg II, the basketball players of SV Darmstadt 98 completed their early promotion to the top league. “After narrowly missing out on promotions three times in the last four years, I’m really happy. The Lilien basketball players belong in the upper league and can finally represent the club across Hesse again thanks to promotion,” said Yannick Wagner, sporting director of the SV98 basketball team. After 16 games played, SVD has 15 wins and the best defense in the league. We warmly congratulate you on your promotion!

“The key was the hard work and discipline of the players in every single training session. This ensured that the tactical variability and aggressive defense that our coach Heshmat Ayoubi demands was implemented perfectly in the games,” explained Wagner. With two games still to play and a win against their direct rivals from Wiesbaden, first place can no longer be taken away from Darmstadt. For the upcoming task in a league higher, Wagner sets a worry-free season as his goal: “Assuming that the team stays together as much as possible and can be strengthened at certain points if necessary, we want to get our points early and have nothing to do with relegation.”

Who is your favorite roommate? What are your game day rituals? Yesterday evening (February 27th), the second SV 98 fan evening of the year took place in the Lilienschänke. The focus in February: The Darmstadt team’s three winter signings – Sebastian Polter, Julian Justvan and Gerrit Holtmann. A sociable evening was about the Lilies‘ sporting situation, VAR, but also personal matters. An exciting and humorous exchange took place in the well-attended Lilienschänke. Afterwards, Polter & Co. of course took time for the fans and were available to ask for photos and autographs. The next fan evening will take place on March 7th (7 p.m.) in the main stand of the Merck Stadium at the Böllenfalltor. It’s about the topic of “stadium experience”. However, the evening is already fully booked.

In the first game after the winter break, SV 98’s second team beat Croatia Griesheim 4-1 after a strong second half. The game got off to a rocky start in the truest sense of the word. The Lilies had to move after the grass pitch was unplayable to a hard pitch at short notice. The pitchwas noticeably troubling our fan team and so we went into the dressing room with a 0-1 deficit. In the second half, the Lilies turned up the heat, relied more on long balls and were able to clearly win the game. With the three points, the SV Darmstadt 98 fan team consolidated fifth place in the table and is in close contact with the top ranks. On Sunday 3rd March at 3pm, more points will be at stake in the home game against TSG Messel II.

Three years ago, on March 1, 2021, former mayor Jochen Partsch, city treasurer André Schellenberg as well as Rüdiger Fritsch and Michael Weilguny (president and managing director of SV 98) laid the foundation stone for the main stand. “It’s incredibly fun to watch the progress on the construction site. With every stone laid, we come closer to our goal of providing adequate space for our spectators, sports, sponsors, media and security personnel,” said President Rüdiger Fritsch, pleased about the construction progress at the time. A lily jersey from the 2020/21 season and an issue of the Darmstädter Echo published on March 1st were placed in the foundation stone capsule. The main stand of SV 98 offers space for a total of 2,982 visitors.

Almost 40 participants competed for victory at the first darts tournament organized by SV Darmstadt 1898 e.V. on Sunday, February 18th. The game was played in Darmstadt’s “Checkpoint” on Rheinstrasse. The field of participants included darts veterans as well as newcomers who competed against each other in a seven-hour event. The final finally consisted of David Bietz and Jan Geisler. With a confident 3-0, Bietz prevailed and secured the tournament victory. Johanna Blochwitz came third. The event received a positive response and those responsible for the SV 98 fan and support department were also satisfied with how the tournament went. There are already some people interested in setting up their own department…

Last Wednesday (February 21st) our eLilien were in action in the Virtual Bundesliga (VBL). After the first game against Nuremberg had to be postponed due to illness on the opposing side, the Darmstadt gamers Doki and Amin started the evening with the game against Elversberg. A win in doubles (4:1) and a draw (3:3) and a defeat (3:4) in singles finally gave the South Hesse team one point. With the next encounter against Eintracht Frankfurt, the second leg of the Hessenderby was on the program. After a 1:1 draw in doubles, the eLilien boys won their two singles games (3:1 and 5:2) and scored three points. In both the first and second half of the season, no points were lost to their rivals and the eLilien rightly earned the title “eDerby winners”.

A former face of the club is also celebrating his birthday this week. Gerhard Kleppinger will be 66 years old on March 1st. As a player, he was active for the Lilies from 1975 to 1980 and celebrated their first promotion to the Bundesliga with the 1978 team. At the beginning of the 90s, Kleppinger returned to the SVD and was active as a player and later as a coach. His last involvement with the club was as head coach on the sidelines from 2006 to 2009; today the Ober-Ramstadt native works as an assistant coach at SV Sandhausen. We wish you a very happy birthday!