Relegation candidate Dresden defeated Darmstadt 98 and benefited from a sending off that could have happened on the other side.
In a game marked by two sendings off, relegation candidate Dynamo Dresden surprisingly defeated second-placed Darmstadt 98. In the 3-1 (2-0) win on the 24th matchday of the 2nd Bundesliga, Vincent Vermeij secured Dresden’s victory with a brace (45th, 45th+2) and Christoph Daferner (81st). Yosuke Furukawa (90th) scored the goal for Darmstadt.
Vermeij’s goals were preceded by a red card for Darmstadt’s Patric Pfeiffer (42′). Even though the game ended in ten-on-ten after a yellow-red card for Dresden’s Jakob Lemmer (53′), the sending off of Pfeiffer was the crux of the game and the biggest upset.
Pfeiffer sees red, Keller sees yellow
Pfeiffer slipped and then fouled Ben Bobzien on his own 16. The ball rolled towards the goal line, but not directly towards the goal, but slightly outwards. Nevertheless, referee Lars Erbst decided on the emergency brake.
The decision was tough and, given a similar scene in the early stages, also worthy of criticism. In the 7th minute, Dresden’s Thomas Keller was the last man to knock down Isac Lidberg. Referee Lars Erbst left it yellow, taking into account that Dresden goalkeeper Tim Schreiber could probably have cleared up the situation.
Darmstadt’s coach Florian Kohfeldt (r.) needs to talk to the linesman
Kohfeldt: “Circumstances were determined by others”
“The circumstances today are very annoying because they were against a good Dynamo team. But that won’t knock us down.”said Darmstadt coach Florian Kohfeldt after the game at the Sportschau.
Dynamo coach Thomas Stamm said about the two scenes: “I’m always for a clear line and then the first is yellow and the second is yellow or the first is red and the second is red.”
Lemmer with an unnecessary yellow-red card
Pfeiffer’s sending off had an immense impact on the game. Dresden, previously without a real chance to score, scored two goals within two minutes. Vermeij first converted a cross from Bobzien with his head and then a clever pass from Niklas Hauptmann with a direct pass.
The game was turned on its head. Up until then, Darmstadt had been the more dangerous team with two good chances from Niklas Schmidt (20th) and Hiroki Akiyama (39th), but went into the locker room with a two-goal deficit.
Despite the unnecessary yellow-red card for Lemmer – he committed two yellow-worthy fouls within a minute – Darmstadt failed to create a good chance of scoring a goal in the second half. Instead, Daferner used a rebound to make the decision. Furukawa’s beautiful goal and Darmstadt’s subsequent final offensive came too late.
Darmstadt’s series breaks
Dresden left the relegation zone, at least for the time being, and only lost one of seven games in the 2026 calendar year. The record is all the more remarkable because it includes four games against teams from the top 5 in the league.
Darmstadt, second in the table, had not lost 13 league games in a row and missed the temporary move to the top; a draw would have been enough.
Dresden in Karlsruhe, Darmstadt against Kiel
Dresden will be a guest at Karlsruher SC on Sunday lunchtime (1:30 p.m.). Darmstadt welcomes Holstein Kiel on Saturday afternoon (1:00 p.m.).
