Despite slow start to season, only 1 win in the opening 9 rounds, Darmstadt were very solid hosts throughout the entire campaign and this was more than enough to keep them safe. Their only home league defeat during the entire season was against champions Arminia, with the points accumulated from the other home matches more than enough for comfortable existence.
The high finish was achieved thanks to impressive form in 2020. After the winter break the Lilies accumulated 9 of their 13 league wins, while losing just 3 of their last 19 matches.
The main reason why Darmstadt never got close enough to the top 3 was their away form though. Unable to beat top 10 team on the road up until late May. Only late in the campaign showed improvement in that department with away wins over Erzgebirge and in the last round over already promoted Stuttgart team.
All season the goals of top scorer Dursun helped a lot, but the true leader of the team was main playmaker Palsson. Leading the league for most successful tackles, highest percentage of accurate short passes, most big chances created by a midfielder and most blocked shots he was the true heartbeat of the entire team week in week out.
Coach Grammozis is leaving the club this summer and this makes it unknown if and how many players will follow him out and who will be the next man in charge. Depending on the appointment and the transfer activity it will become clearer what the goals for next season will be.
