Darmstadt 98 can lose the championship lead at the weekend. Against Kiel it is not enough for the hoped-for victory in the Friday evening game. Nevertheless, the lilies show an energetic performance.
Darmstadt (dpa/lhe) - Table leaders SV Darmstadt 98 allowed themselves to lose a point in the 2nd Bundesliga three days after their cup coup. The Lilien came to a 1-1 (0-1) draw against Holstein Kiel on Friday evening in front of 14,650 spectators at the Böllenfalltor. Steven Skrzybski (35th minute) gave the guests the lead with his ninth goal of the season, Matthias Bader equalized (72nd). "Putting in such an energetic performance after a week like this was incredibly important for morale. We'll come out even stronger," said the goalscorer.
Darmstadt avoided defeat with an attack in the second half and are now unbeaten in 14 competitive games. Coach Torsten Lieberknecht's team knocked out Borussia Mönchengladbach 2-1 in the second round of the DFB Cup on Tuesday. Darmstadt put in a weak first half against Kiel. At 0: 1, however, video evidence was needed to clarify whether Skrzybski had been offside.
"The fact that we had the cup game on Tuesday and had to play again today was a big deal for us," admitted Lieberknecht after the final whistle. "I'm all the more happy about the second half: With the switch to 4-2-3-1 we found more grip against the ball and created our chances to score. I'm massively proud of what we achieved today - especially in the second half."
Darmstadt also suffered from the loss of a few aces, including cup winning goalscorer Aaron Seydel, but really put the pressure on after the break. Patric Pfeiffer (51st) and Braydon Manu (62nd) both missed chances with a header. When equalizing, Bader scored from an acute angle through the legs of goalkeeper Thomas Dähne.
Newcomer and striker Keanan Bennets (most recently Borussia Mönchengladbach), whose commitment the southern Hesse had announced shortly before the game, was not used. Kiel's Simon Lorenz had to be treated for a long time in stoppage time after injuring his head in a collision.
