Team throws confidence behind Hunt

It was THE scene of the match. In the 52nd minute, the second penalty was given for Werder in the game. Aaron Hunt had already missed and Eljero Elia and Marko Arnautovic wanted to step up to the spot. But Hunt still felt good. And the team decided the deputy captain should take the penalty. Defender Sokratis raced from the back to the spot and gave Hunt the ball and a pat on the shoulder as well. The 25-year-old had the team's full trust and Hunt did not disappoint, converting to make it 1-0.

"When I took the penalty I didn't really think about much. Also not on the missed penalty beforehand. I wanted to take responsibility and shot harder and the ball was in. I just wanted to make good on my mistake. Thankfully it worked out," said Hunt after the match.

And Hunt received recognition from the higher-ups. "Aaron played a great match. He said beforehand that he wanted to take over the role as a leader and today he did that," said manager Klaus Allofs. "That was a remarkable scene. On the one hand that Aaron says again that he is ready to take the responsibility but also that the team gave him their trust in that manner," said head coach Thomas Schaaf. The coach purposely did not interject in the scene. "I let the players decide. We have a group of players who can take penalties and they make the decision," said the coach. Captain Clemens Fritz was not surprised that they decided again for Hunt. "You could tell in the half-time break that the team stood behind Aaron. We told him he should forget about the missed penalty and continue his game. That gave him a lot of courage," said Fritz.

Striker Nils Petersen was really happy afterwards as he scored to make it 2-0. "I fought for the team and then you get such a great ball from Aaron. That is good for my confidence, especially now with the national team break. I think it's great that the team trusted Aaron. He is a super player, he has a great shooting technique. He is the deputy captain, and he didn't shy away from responsibility," said Petersen.