After the end of the cup, the leaders of the second division are aiming for further Hessen derbies for the coming season – that should be possible,
Mathias Honsak, the Darmstadt double packer, could hardly stop raving late Tuesday evening in the catacombs of the Frankfurt Arena. Eintracht is an “incredible team”, who had just a few minutes earlier secured the 4-2 win in the DFB Cup round of 16 against him, Honsak, and his colleagues from the second division team SV Darmstadt 98. “Incredible players” like Mario Götze, Randal Kolo Muani or Daichi Kamada, the Austrian in the service of southern Hesse immediately listed, “incredible names” they were all in all. And: “We want to go there too.”
What is meant is the Bundesliga, Germany’s elite class of football, which is closer to the SVD as the leaders in the second division than seldom before. The cup-off against the favored Eintracht, which came about from the point of view of the lilies after a remarkably resilient, passionate, and good performance, hurts a lot, the disappointment outweighs the disappointment, says Honsak, “nevertheless, we can be proud of ourselves.”
Coach praises and complains
It was the 26-year-old who kept the game going with his second two-pack within five days – before that he had scored twice in the league against SV Sandhausen – that brought Lilien back into the game and then even the lead. It was also he who came closest to the performance level of the Champions League club from the Main on this thrilling cup evening from a Darmstadt perspective, perhaps playing the best personal game of his career. “Honsi was our best,” praised Torsten Lieberknecht, who is otherwise reluctant to praise individual professionals.
Basically, the disappointment of the Darmstadt coach was palpable after the game. Sure, he attested his team a decent performance, not much more, praised the mentality, also the calmness in the game that so often characterizes the team, to come back after an early deficit. But the 49-year-old was really annoyed that his team conceded quite a few goals quite easily in this moody refrigerator called Waldstadion.
Especially since he saw it coming. The 2:2 scored by Frankfurt striker Rafael Borré shortly before the break was initiated by an unnecessary pass by Darmstadt goalkeeper Marcel Schuhen and an unnecessary loss of the ball by right-back Frank Ronstadt. In those situations, Lieberknecht was already waving wildly around in his coaching zone when his men were still in possession of the ball. You could have solved it differently, of course, with a long liberation blow. “Gift goal”, according to Lieberknecht’s analysis.
“True unity” awaits
Without the subjective view of a coach on some mistakes of his team, a very stable, good performance remains from this cup game from the point of view of the south Hesse. The team challenged the club from the premier class, really annoyed him for a long time, by no means hiding, but bravely participating in the game. Although, it must also be said that Eintracht was the better team for the full season and the deserved winner.
Lieberknecht analyzed all this afterwards on the press podium quite soberly, even very reserved for his standards, but once he broke into the typical and sympathetic Lieberknecht laugh: “We know who the next opponent is,” he began , took a short break and then followed with a big grin: “The true unity.”
Those from Braunschweig, namely, Lieberknecht’s still dearly loved ex, for whom he stood on the sidelines for ten years and who is a guest at the Böllenfalltor on Sunday (1.30 p.m. / Sky). The clear goal of the lilies: three points. After all, they want to experience more Hessen derbies in Darmstadt soon.
