“We’re very relieved” | OneFootball

Board member for sport Markus Krösche, head coach Dino Toppmöller, Jonathan Burkardt and Ansgar Knauff react to the 2-0 win against St. Pauli.

Board member for sport Markus Krösche: “It was important for the team to keep a clean sheet. We played well as a team and it did the boys a lot of good. It was an important win. We’re playing every three days, so our games don’t always have to be spectacular in order to be good. Wins always help. Gaining some self-confidence will do us good but we don’t want to read too much into the result. If you look at the whole season then we’re actually on track, even if we should have taken all three points from the game against Union Berlin.” Head coach Dino Toppmöller: “We wanted to impart energy from the dugout and were absolutely determined to win this one. It was a hard-fought win. We achieved what we set out to do. We were the better team and we finally managed to keep a clean sheet again, which was incredibly important. We scored two at the other end, so we can all go home satisfied. The first one was a typical Jonny goal; he was lurking. For his second, he kept his composure to control the ball and had the class to wait for it to drop and then calmly slot it in. Now we’re looking forward to another big game on Tuesday at home to Dortmund, which will be a real cup battle.” 

Ansgar Knauff: “We knew we were up against a very physical opponent, and we held our own in that regard right from the off. Jonny’s in good form, he scored another two goals, which helps us a lot. The fact we kept our first clean sheet of the season gives us all an extra push. We wanted to battle our way into the game, and that worked well. Hopefully this match will help us get back into our rhythm.”

Jonathan Burkardt: “We’re very relieved to have won, kept a clean sheet and played well. We stood together defensively, which is the way it should be. We deserved the win today. The pass over the defender for the second goal was world class, it came straight to me. But the main thing is that we kept a clean sheet and won.”