Even though SV Darmstadt 98 failed to score against Leverkusen, progress could be seen in attacking play. However, the coach curbed his expectations of Sebastian Polter.
A debut with good approaches: Sebastian Polter can enrich the Lilies’ game. IMAGO/Hartenfelser
Nobody in Darmstadt can afford to take a long time getting used to things. Julian Justvan started two weeks ago: his first training session with the Lilies on Friday and his first start in the 2-2 draw against Frankfurt on Saturday. Gerrit Holtmann had a few more training sessions available before he made his debut for the 98ers at Union Berlin (0-1). As the last winter signing, it was Sebastian Polter’s turn: the first training session on Friday, just under half an hour on Saturday in the 2-0 defeat against Leverkusen.
The striker won’t be able to play many more minutes in the coming weeks due to a lack of match practice. In the first half of the season, Polter only played a total of 418 minutes at Schalke, since the end of October there have only been 27. “You have to say that clearly. He knows that he needs minutes of play. He knows that he comes for 30 minutes like today, when he is needed,” explained coach Torsten Lieberknecht. The 32-year-old was “on fire” in discussions for this role.
Polter, Holtmann and Justvan expand the options
This attitude was immediately noticeable when Polter stepped onto the Böllenfalltor lawn in the 65th minute. Polter threw himself into duels, looked for header duels and tried to put his colleagues in the spotlight. That’s exactly what he was brought in for. The Lilies have so far lacked a physically strong striker. In combination with the fast and technically adept Holtmann and Justvan, who was missing on Saturday due to injury, Lieberknecht is offered completely new variants in attacking play.
Holtmann was particularly impressive against the Werkself with his speed on the left. Two mistakes before the 0:1, when he first lost sight of the ball and then goal scorer Nathan Tella, clouded his assessment somewhat. The team’s offensive performance can still be seen as progress.
While the team regularly failed to create good chances in the previous weeks, the weakness on Saturday was only in the final finish. Either Oscar Vilhelmsson didn’t hit the ball or Luca Pfeiffer’s shots from promising positions resembled returns for keeper Lukas Hradecky. But despite all the anger, realism prevailed: Leverkusen is not a yardstick for the 98ers this season. “It’s hard for me to complain. I won’t find a bad word for the troops today. We had too many good situations,” summarized Lieberknecht.
Two tasks for Polter
Probably Polter’s best scene ended on Saturday just outside the penalty area after contact with Piero Hincapie. “I would have granted him this foul,” emphasized Lieberknecht. “He showed what he can bring to us when it comes to receiving and carrying the ball.” However, the whistle that would have resulted in a promising free kick failed to materialize. There was definitely contact, but Polter went down quite conspicuously – a tricky scene for referee Tobias Reichel.
The tasks for the coming weeks are clearly outlined: On the one hand, Polter has to get into physical condition to be an option for the starting eleven. On the other hand, Polter must be integrated into the team in the upcoming substitute appearances, which was recently not used to high balls into the center being promising. “He won’t be a savior because none of us expect that of him,” Lieberknecht made it clear. “He’s a supporter of the team. He knows that. That’s why I was really excited to get him here.”
The seventh club: Polter’s Bundesliga record
Incidentally, Polter set a Bundesliga record. After Wolfsburg, Nuremberg, Mainz, Union, Bochum and Schalke, Darmstadt is his seventh club for which he played in the Bundesliga. In doing so, he drew level with Michael Spies, who played for VfB Stuttgart, Karlsruhe, Gladbach, Rostock, HSV, Dresden and Wolfsburg.
2024-02-04 15:21:55
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