16th matchday
Darmstadt 98 takes a point at 1899 Hoffenheim
Tim Skarke (r) scored two Därmstadt goals at 1899 Hoffenheim. photo
© Uwe Anspach/dpa
Darmstadt 98 remained without a win for the ninth game in a row, but showed a lot of morale in the deserved draw in Hoffenheim. The Hessians are behind three times.
Despite being behind three times against TSG 1899 Hoffenheim, the Hessians achieved a deserved 3:3 (1:2) and now have ten points in their account.
In front of 18,125 spectators, Andrej Kramaric scored with a penalty in the 14th minute and Ihlas Bebou (28th/66th) scored for TSG, which moved up to sixth place in the table with 24 points, at least overnight. Luca Pfeiffer (23rd) and Tim Skarke (57th/85th) scored the goals for the Hessians, who have now been winless for nine games.
Darmstadt with the last line-up
Darmstadt’s final contingent – eight professionals were missing injured or ill – put up a brave resistance for over 90 minutes and were rewarded for their self-sacrificing fight with partial success at the end. Too many mistakes in defense cost coach Torsten Lieberknecht’s team a possible victory.
Hoffenheim dominated the game for long periods, but hardly provided any playful highlights. Kramaric still had the chance to take the lead early on, but the Croatian narrowly missed the target with a header.
Just six minutes later, the TSG striker took advantage of his second opportunity when he shot coldly from the penalty spot. Klaus Gjasula had previously caught Bebou, who had run free, off his feet in the penalty area.
However, the guests were not impressed and were rewarded for their efforts. Pfeiffer skillfully completed a beautiful combination after an assist from Bartol Franjic. It was the striker’s first goal of the season, on loan from VfB Stuttgart.
However, the joy of the equalizer did not last long. Shortly after Grischa Prömel had missed a 100 percent chance, the midfielder served Bebou with a dream pass, who lightly rounded the visiting goalkeeper Marcel Schuhen and pushed it in.
Darmstadt strikes back three times
After the change, the Lilies struck back a second time. Following Pfeiffer’s preparatory work, Skarke hit the right corner with a dry low shot from around 15 meters. But once again the reaction from the home team was not long in coming. Once again it was the striking Bebou who gave Schuhen no chance with a well-placed low shot.
The guests didn’t seem to recover from the third effective goal. Despite tireless efforts, coach Torsten Lieberknecht’s team was hardly able to initiate any dangerous offensive actions.
Hoffenheim could have extended the result, but John Anthony Brooks hit the ball over the crossbar from five meters. This took revenge in the final phase when Skarke finished after a catastrophic bad pass from TSG defender Ozan Kabak.