“We pushed hard” | OneFootball

Board member for sport Markus Krösche, head coach Dino Toppmöller and goalscorer Rasmus Kristensen give their assessment of the draw at Heidenheim.

Board member for sport Markus Krösche: “We played too slowly in the first half and our movement wasn’t great. Heidenheim defended that well. I’m not sure why the referee disallowed our goal; it would’ve been easier with a lead. We did better after the break and tried to get the ball forwards, but Heidenheim threw a lot of bodies in between. Nevertheless, we had the opportunities to win the match. In the end it’s two points dropped. We have to play much more quickly against opponents who defend deep. We can’t be pleased with this week as a whole.”

Head coach Dino Toppmöller: “We knew it’d be a hard-fought match over 90 minutes, and so it was. Both teams did a lot of running, over 120 kilometres. We really wanted to take the three points. We lacked a cutting edge up front and determination in the first half. The second half was really good. It was a display of desire after the game on Tuesday. We pushed hard but the crossbar and Diant Ramaj got in the way. Can Uzun has a problem in his thigh, which is a huge blow because he has a big influence on our play. He’ll have an MRI scan tomorrow morning, then we’ll know more.” 

Rasmus Kristensen: “I obviously would’ve taken three points over scoring a goal. It was a good performance overall – very good in the second half. Certainly good enough for three points, even though it’s not easy to play here. We have to accept the result but of course we’re not satisfied. I didn’t see a foul for the disallowed goal from Elye Wahi. Then we concede, that makes it difficult, and we go into the break feeling a bit disappointed. Despite that, we came out with great energy – unfortunately, it wasn’t enough for the win.”