When it happened and it was certain that league two would continue next season, the “Liliens” fans did not stop their chants. On the pitch, however, disappointment broke out among the Darmstadt professionals. It was no longer a question of whether, but when SV Darmstadt 98’s relegation from the Bundesliga would be mathematically certain. Now it is the Sunday evening of the 31st matchday. The 0-1 defeat against 1. FC Heidenheim sealed a season in which the number one relegation candidate also became the first relegated team.
You can give the “Liliens” credit that they played football with full commitment and passion until the end. Overall, in this failed Darmstadt season it was almost never a question of a lack of will, but almost always of a lack of quality. This also applies to the match against Heidenheim, the co-promoter who is more than twice as good in terms of points and will almost certainly play in the Bundesliga next season. And it was also clear when Nikola Dovedan conceded a late goal (90th), because it was aided by a bad mistake by SVD central defender Matej Maglica.
Not much would have been missing and Darmstadt’s relegation would have been confirmed after just a few minutes of play at the Böllenfalltor. Cologne’s late 1-1 equalizer in the overtime game in Mainz gave the South Hesse team the chance to postpone direct relegation with a home win. Only, it wasn’t meant to be.
The “Lilien” made four changes – Christoph Zimmermann, Emir Karic, Jannik Müller and Luca Pfeiffer moved into the starting line-up for the injured Clemens Riedel, Matthias Bader, Aaron Seydel and Klaus Gjasula – and had a lively start to the penultimate home game of the season. After a well-combined counter-attack, Fabian Nürnberger narrowly missed the target (5th), following a similar pattern in the 27th minute. Shortly beforehand, however, it took a strong reaction from SVD goalkeeper Marcel Schuhen to defuse Patrick Mainka’s header. In addition, the match in the Bundesliga was similar to the many comparisons between the two teams in the past second division seasons: lots of duels, lots of pushing and fighting each other, lots of intensity, little playful esprit.
After the break, the Darmstadt team initially came under a bit of pressure in a game that was now livelier, as evidenced by a strong long-range shot from Tim Kleindienst, which the Schuhe were able to parry (58th). Powerful South Hesse offensive actions remained a job for left-back Nürnberger: FCH goalkeeper Kevin Müller was just able to reach his remarkable free kick from 20 meters on the fly (66th). Müller also successfully blocked Oscar Vilhelmsson’s shot from a tight angle (76′).
The “Lilien” fought against early relegation until the end – a shot from substitute Mathias Honsak from a promising position was blocked (88th). But then they managed to lose a deserved point. Maglica stepped over the ball where you shouldn’t under any circumstances step over the ball: in your own five-yard box. And after Dovedan’s goal, the twelfth defeat in the 16th home game could no longer be averted – also a reason why the “Lilies” were ultimately permanently in a losing position in 2023/24.