After the DFB Cup quarter-finals in Saarbrücken were canceled due to the pitch being unplayable, Borussia Mönchengladbach managed a very weak 0-0 draw in the Bundesliga against newly promoted SV Darmstadt 98 on Saturday (February 10, 2024). This game was also accompanied by fan-Protests against the planned DFL investorsdeal and a longer interruption.
After the 3:3 in the first leg, in which Gladbach had caught up from 0:3, one could have expected another goal spectacle in the game between the weakest league defense (Darmstadt with 49 goals conceded) against the second weakest Gladbach team (41). A little surprisingly, the game ended goalless.
After mowing draw Borussia is still without a win in the second half of the season and remains in the lower middle of the table. Darmstadt didn’t win a league three in the 14th attempt either and remains bottom of the table despite the respectable success.
Mönchengladbach’s coach Gerardo Seoane told the Sportschau after the end of the game, “Of course we are disappointed with the result. Nevertheless, we had a few situations where with a little more clarity and calm and better decisions you could have scored one or two goals. We are now taking this point with us and will analyze it carefully and try to take the next step in the next game.”
Darmstadt’s coach Torsten Lieberknecht told Sportschau: “A decent point, we earned it because we occupied the space well tactically in the defensive area and were good in pressing.” It’s not there yet “big step” Towards the turning point: “But I just believe that in football, as we have often experienced, there are things that suddenly can no longer be explained.”
As expected, the “Lilien” left the game to the “Foals”, wanting to stay safe at the back and try to achieve success with counterattacks. Defensively, the plan worked. The first better chance that Borussia had Franck Honorat (16th), who moved half-right into the penalty area. However, the ball slipped over the Frenchman’s instep just in front of Darmstadt’s goalkeeper Marcel Schuhen.
Gladbach is having a hard time
The team Coach Seoane had problems building up the game against the densely packed Darmstadt team and struggled with their five-man chain. SV could have even taken the lead in the 25th minute. A loose shot from Emir Karic from the left from 18 meters only hit the left side net.
Interruption due to DFL protest – divided camps
After half an hour there was the now ritual break in the game because fans threw tennis balls onto the field in protest against the German Football League. But there were also people in the audience who commented on this action with whistles. After eight minutes, referee Sascha Stegemann stopped the game and asked the teams to the sidelines. After a 13-minute interruption, the game restarted, and injury time in the first half was 16 minutes.
Huge opportunity for Gladbach’s Jordan Siebatcheu
Gladbach still had options in this one. After a corner from Luca Netz, Max Wöber (45th + 2) placed his shot directly to the left of the goal. Then Florian Neuhaus (45th + 8) failed in a one-on-one because of shoes, Jordan Siebatcheu fired the follow-up shot over the crossbar from nine meters. Before the half-time whistle “Jordan” after one Tackling Klaus Gjasula came out injured, came in for him Alassane Plea. Darmstadt’s coach Torsten Lieberknecht was already injured in the twelfth minute Bartol Franjić have to be replaced by Andreas Müller.
Darmstadt is deep, Borussia can’t put the ball into the goal
From Mönchengladbach’s point of view, the second half of the game could only get better; by then they had once again demonstrated their problems against low-lying opponents from the bottom of the table. But it remained a tough game. It was only after almost an hour that VfL’s attacks became more compelling. With long-range shots from Neuhaus (63′) and Honorat (64′), Schuhen remained the winner. After a nice pass from Nathan N’Goumou Patrick Herrmann (76th) slipped just past the ball at the five-pointer in front of the free goal.
Darmstadt’s attacking efforts remained harmless, but on defense the Hessians presented themselves as self-sacrificing, passionate and genuine team, where everyone helped everyone. And because Borussia despite everything Commitments Didn’t put the ball in the goal until the final phase, the score remained 0-0, which didn’t really help either team.
Gladbach at RB, Darmstadt against VfB
The “Foals” will play at RB Leipzig next Saturday (February 17, 2024, 3:30 p.m.). The “Lilien” welcome VfB Stuttgart three hours earlier.