SV Darmstadt 98 is finding it difficult to deal with another blow to the neck against Werder Bremen. This is not the only reason why captain Fabian Holland longs to go back to the past before the important home game against Augsburg.
On Saturday there was no stopping SV Darmstadt 98: After 15 games without a win in a row, Tim Skarke finally scored the long-awaited victory in stoppage time. Supposedly. Much to the annoyance of the Lilies, the goal to make it 2-1 against Bremen was, as is well known, not given because of a handball. Technically correct, but still difficult to digest for the southern Hesse people even a few days later.
“The Bremen game was a slap in the face,” said SV98 captain Fabian Holland in a media interview on Wednesday. “You could see how much we wanted this threesome and how good it would have been for us.” But still: the mood in the team is still good, they are still “eager to win games”.
With dirty victories to stay in the league – like in 2015/16
And despite all odds. This season, the Darmstadt team is suffering from a bitter combination of bad luck with injuries and controversial referee decisions. At least the captain doesn’t want to use that as an excuse. The truth is that too many individual mistakes have been made. “We’re not just down there because we’ve been unlucky for a whole year,” explained Holland.
And if anyone knows their way around lilies, it’s the 33-year-old. Apart from him, only Tobias Kempe from the current squad was there in 2015/16 – back then, the South Hesse team sensationally celebrated staying in the Bundesliga.
And according to Holland, that wasn’t due to better individual players. Although the team has more Bundesliga experience, they currently have “certainly more quality than back then,” said Holland. So something else is crucial: “The difference is that back then we simply won the close games badly.”
Tietz and Pfeiffer before an emotional return to the Böllenfalltor
And speaking of dirty: That’s what the next game against FC Augsburg should be like. “This is a team that will demand everything from you and is particularly nasty in duels,” the Lilien captain also knows.
The fact that the Lilies are still looking forward to the duel is also due to the return of two former Darmstadt players: Both Patric Pfeiffer and Phillip Tietz now play for Augsburg. The latter in particular has a special bond with his former club. However, this shouldn’t have any impact on the game. Although we are happy to see the two again, there will be “no friendships” on the pitch, as Holland made it clear.
Instead, he would like the described “dirty victory” against the Fuggerstadt team in order to get back in the relegation battle. Because Skarke’s sprint against Bremen showed one thing: SV Darmstadt 98 is not giving up.