Darmstadt climb to third in 2. Bundesliga

Darmstadt started the game knowing a win would be enough to see them climb to the top three, but they were ineffective with their chances in the first-half. Isac Lidberg had a couple of great opportunities to add to his impressive tally, while Luca Marseiler could have completed his hat-trick inside the first 40 minutes.

However, it was the visitors who took the lead when Matej Maglica beat his captain, Marcel Schuhen. The former Stuttgart defender seemed to endure a difficult week on the pitch with the own-goal following his red card in the cup exit.

At one point in the half, Christian Eichner was so animated in the dugout with Karlsruhe struggling to show any improvement from the last three defeats, but that goal seemed to change the dressing room scenes. Yet, they’ve conceded at the stroke of half-time via set-piece play.

Marco Richter, who created most of Darmstadt’s chances alongside Sergio López, scored a beautiful free-kick for his first goal for the club. Marseiler continued to test Hans Christian Bernat in Karlsruhe’s goal after the break, but it was the Swedish striker who beat the Dane in the 49th minute.

Lidberg scored his 11th goal of the season with a superb finish as he responded to Younes Ebnoutalib’s strike in Elversberg’s win early today in Paderborn. The two strikers sit at the top of the scoring chart after 15 matchdays.  

However, Karlsruhe equalized on the hour mark as Fabian Schleusener capitalized on another defensive mistake. López lost his focus as he lost the ball to Marvin Wanitzek in the danger zone, and Karlsruhe's captain had the vision to spot Schleusener’s run.

Much to Florian Kohfeldt's delight, Darmstadt responded well to conceding once again, though. Maglica cancelled his own-goal with a brilliant header from Richter’s inviting corner-kick.

They were still struggling to convert their chances, however. Lidberg failed to convert an easy chance from a rebound after a decent save by Bernat. The 26-year-old striker also came very close to a brace twice in the closing stages of the game. At the other end, Schuhen had to be alert in the final moments to secure the three points.

Darmstadt climbed to third as they extended their unbeaten run to five league games. If Nürnberg beat relegation-threatened Greuther Fürth tomorrow afternoon, Karlsruhe will drop to ninth place as they lost each of their last four games.