Darmstadt 98 picks up a point at 1899 Hoffenheim

Darmstadt 98 remain without a win for the ninth game in a row, but showed great morale in a deserved draw at Hoffenheim. The Hessians trailed three times.

, and Anne Legman

2023 December 19 . 10:33 PM

2 min read

Tim Skarke (r) scored two goals for Därmstadt at 1899 Hoffenheim. Photo.aussiedlerbote.de

Matchday 16 - Darmstadt 98 picks up a point at 1899 Hoffenheim

Promoted Darmstadt 98 have been rewarded for a courageous performance with a point and have gained new courage in the relegation battle in the Bundesliga ahead of the winter break.

Despite trailing three times at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim, the Hessians came away with a deserved 3:3 (1:2) and now have ten points to their name.

In front of 18,125 spectators, Andrej Kramaric scored from the penalty spot in the 14th minute and Ihlas Bebou (28th/66th) for TSG, who moved up to sixth place in the table with 24 points, at least overnight. Luca Pfeiffer (23') and Tim Skarke (57'/85') scored for the Hessians, who are now without a win in nine games.

Darmstadt with last squad

Darmstadt's last squad - eight professionals were missing through injury or illness - put up a valiant resistance for 90 minutes and were rewarded for their self-sacrificing fight with a partial victory in 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 showed any flashes of brilliance. Kramaric nevertheless 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 made the most of his second opportunity when he scored from the penalty spot. Klaus Gjasula had previously pulled Bebou, who had run clear, off his feet in the penalty area.

However, the visitors were not impressed and were rewarded for their efforts. Pfeiffer finished off a beautiful combination after an assist from Bartol Franjic. It was the first goal of the season for the striker on loan from VfB Stuttgart.

However, the joy of the equalizer did not last long. Shortly after Grischa Prömel had missed a one-hundred percent chance, the midfielder played a dream pass to Bebou, who easily rounded visiting goalkeeper Marcel Schuhen and slotted home.

Darmstadt hit back three times

After the changeover, the Lilies struck back a second time. Skarke scored with a dry low shot into the right corner from around 15 meters out, with Pfeiffer doing the rest. However, the home side's response was not long in coming. Once again, it was the striking Bebou who gave Schuhen no chance with a low shot.

The visitors seemed unable to recover from the third goal. Despite their tireless efforts, coach Torsten Lieberknecht's team were barely able to initiate any dangerous attacking moves.

In fact, Hoffenheim could have extended the lead, but John Anthony Brooks thumped the ball over the crossbar from five meters. That took its revenge in the closing stages when Skarke finished off a disastrous misplaced pass from TSG defender Ozan Kabak.