It doesn’t often happen in the Bundesliga that the first spectators leave the stadium in the middle of the first half – that was the case at the Darmstadt Böllenfalltor on Saturday. And you couldn’t blame them at all.
After 29 minutes it was already 5-0 for FC Augsburg, and one goal was scored in a more grotesque way than the other. The first Augsburg goal by Philip Tietz was scored by the completely overwhelmed defender Jannik Müller with a bad pass. In the 3-0 defeat by Ermedin Demirovic, the FCA striker received a back pass that was far too short from Klaus Gjasula. Both Gjasula and Müller were substituted after 27 minutes. And in the other three goals by Fredrik Jensen (12th), Ruben Vargas (24th) and again Demirovic (29th) there were no notable defensive attempts to be seen – but there were bad ball losses that the Augsburg offensive took advantage of without much effort.
The first ball landed in front of the Augsburg goal shortly before half-time
“Mistakes here, mistakes there, blackouts here and there, the first half felt like it lasted three hours,” sighed the unfortunate goalkeeper Marcel Schuhen. “That was a total disaster, not worthy of Darmstadt.”
That’s how dozens of spectators saw it, who left the scene of horror after the 4-0 defeat. After the fifth goal, a few hundred more followed. Shortly afterwards, the Ultras also stopped their chants, and their capo spoke again after the game, gesticulating wildly on the harassed Darmstadt players. Previously there had been expressions of dissatisfaction the likes of which had not been seen at the Böllenfalltor in years – anger and disbelief were expressed in the entire arsenal, from cries of pooh to malicious applause when a pass arrived or Augsburg keeper Finn Dahmen scored the first ball goal got. That was the case in the 44th minute.
No, he had never experienced a day like this as a professional, Dahmen said after the game. And yes, they now want to “start a small series and also win against Heidenheim next week.” Just this much about the game: Darmstadt “acted a bit unluckily.” Lilien President Rüdiger Fritsch expressed himself more drastically: “Today was so catastrophic that a normal game analysis doesn’t even allow for it. It’s clear that the spectators aren’t releasing balloons for joy.”
No, the story that has been told so often about the brave people of Darmstadt who resist the seemingly inevitable could not be repeated this time. Ultimately, the bottom of the table was too bad for Augsburg’s performance to be fairly assessed. The ball, so much could be said, ran well through the Swabians’ ranks. And they consistently did exactly what any team consisting of professional footballers would have done against such a defense: They attacked the Darmstadt team early in their half and thereby repeatedly caused images in the first half like those that arise when there is a Fox got into the chicken coop.
The Lilies’ next opponents: Leipzig and Bayern
In general, Augsburg’s trip to Hesse was worth it – tenth place and a suddenly decent goal difference of minus two were the result of the day. It could have been even better, but after the break, the FCA showed themselves to be gracious and set a pace that suited the Darmstadt team and suited the atmosphere: apart from the happy signs of life from the sold-out block of visitors, there was dead silence at the “Bölle”, where it then took place But there was still the final chapter of a memorable afternoon to marvel at: Philip Tietz scored his second goal to make it 6-0 (84′).
Before this matchday, the specialist magazine had Kicker published a survey according to which 2.1 percent of readers believe that the Lilies will stay in the league. The 17,810 spectators who witnessed this game will probably find this value surprisingly high. Especially since we’re going to Leipzig next week. And then comes FC Bayern.