“A real test of character” | OneFootball

Head coach Dino Toppmöller, goalscorer Ritsu Doan and Ellyes Skhiri react to the 1-0 home win over FC Augsburg.

Head coach Dino Toppmöller: “It was a scrappy game. The little details were definitely on our side today, but we deserved that. The boys tried to give everything they had. We were lacking that final bit of sharpness, but it’s been a demanding first half of the season. That’s why it was a real test of character. Our substitutes brought good energy into the game. Robin Koch has been struggling with a calf problem for the past two or three weeks. He keeps pushing through the pain, even though he’s been advised to take a break. We’ll see how he recovers. We won’t take any unnecessary risks, but of course we’ll do everything we can to make sure he’s on the pitch in Hamburg on Saturday. We’re determined to take all three points there. I’m extremely pleased for the fans that we were able to sign off for the year at home with a win.” 

Ritsu Doan: “We showed another good reaction to the game last weekend. We showed a good mentality and we’ve always got the quality to find a goal. The goal came from some fantastic counter-pressing from Nnamdi Collins. I’m just really happy. It wasn’t only a nice goal, it was an important one. We were determined to win, especially for our fans because we wanted to give something back to them in our last home game. That was very, very important.”

Ellyes Skhiri: “It wasn’t an easy game. We didn’t always have things under control but in the end we got exactly what we wanted, which is all three points. Nnamdi Collins made a really important ball recovery in the build-up to our goal. He used his body well and won the ball back. We had a bit of luck today that the VAR decisions went our way. Now I’ve got high hopes with Tunisia at the Africa Cup of Nations. We didn’t do very well last time so we want to have a good tournament this time around.”