Half a dozen goals, three important points in the battle for survival and a home win for the fans. The impressive 6-2 win against VfB Stuttgart gave fresh hope to the Green-Whites. "We're pleased with the game and the result. We did a lot of things right," said manager Viktor Skripnik. However, nobody wants to make too much of the rise to 15th place. "It was a small step but we need two more if we are to stay up," added Fin Bartels.
"We can certainly enjoy the win for the time being, but we need to start thinking about our next game tomorrow," said Thomas Eichin. WERDER.DE has put together all the reaction from last night.
Clemens Fritz: "We didn't allow the setbacks to faze us. We remained courageous, defended aggressively and supported one another. It was a well-deserved win and the right response to what's been said in the last few weeks. Some people had written us off already."
Jannik Vestergaard: "We brought our quality to the pitch today and battled well as a team. We put in a good performance despite the setbacks. We can build on this good result."
Anthony Ujah: "It was a great game from us. We showed from the very beginning that we wanted to take something from the game. We're leaving the stadium with a smile on our face. There was a great atmosphere."
Thomas Eichin: "We showed real courage today and demonstrated an even greater amount of heart. A 6-2 win is a clear message. I believed we would win but not by such a great margin."
We want to win our last two games at any cost.Felix Wiedwald
Felix Wiedwald: "We put in a superb team performance. We sat back a bit after taking the lead but gave our all after that. At the end it was clear to see that we had some insecurity at the back despite leading heavily."
Viktor Skripnik: "We've often lost our nerve after taking the lead in this stadium but that wasn't the case today. The goals came at the right time and it was a deserved win that does a lot for us. Everything's still up for grabs and we need to approach the last two games with equally as much focus. It's all in our own hands."
Jannik Vestergaard: "It's nice and long overdue, but we have two games left that we really have to win. We can't celebrate too soon. The important thing is to be above the line after matchday 34."
Thomas Eichin: "We've taken the first step but we now need to take the second and collect the points we need. The relegation battle hasn't been decided yet. We're focused on our next game. It's not easy to win in Cologne so we need to approach the game the same way we did today."
Felix Wiedwald: "We've overtaken our competitors with the win. We want to win our last two games at any cost."
Anthony Ujah: "The training camp helped us a lot. In the two days, we watched a lot of videos, talked a lot and injected some positivity into the team. I can't reveal our secret, otherwise others would always win.”
Jannik Vestergaard: “It didn’t change anything massively, we are still the same players. It showed how much of a role mentality plays. We were fully focused on the task, turned the pressure into positive energy and the fear into joy. We definitely believed before the match that we could leave the pitch as the winners and people could see that.”
Clemens Fritz: “We simply wanted to show that we were as prepared as possible for the match. We worked intensely for this in the last few days.”
Viktor Skripnik: “We managed to gain calm in the past few days. After the 6-2 win, you could say that we did everything right.”
Jannik Vestergaard: “The atmosphere was brilliant today. We were sitting on the bus and saw it all, that the fans just couldn’t wait for the match to begin. You could see that the whole city is behind Werder. The mood gave us the final percent of incentive necessary. We are incredibly happy that we were able to give the fans a game like that. After the season we have had, we could have understood if everyone had been very disappointed.”
Thomas Eichin: “There was once again a great atmosphere today. The fans here show something unique and you can’t find that in every city.”
Felix Wiedwald: “The mood was world class. I don’t think that anybody sat down throughout the entire match. I also noticed that the fans were behind me today and it made it possible for me to help the team.”
Fin Bartels: “The fans’ support was phenomenal. Thanks to all of the Werder faithful, it was a real boost for us.”
Clemens Fritz: “We still find ourselves in a relegation battle and we are not safe yet even though we did improve our situation. Obviously, the euphoria after wins like that is huge but we have to concentrate on working hard again and not get carried away. We have to be honest with ourselves; this wasn’t the end.”
Fin Bartels: “The pressure was on us but after this win we have more belief. Our performances have been good for the last few weeks, but we just didn’t manage to get results. We now have two important matches remaining and we want to build on this performance. It was in our own hands from the beginning until the end. We want to take the performance and the atmosphere with us and translate it into positive energy. If we continue to play like that in the remaining matches I am optimistic.”
Anthony Ujah: “I look forward to playing at the Rhein-Energie-Stadion against my old colleagues, even if I am not expecting a nice reception. That is how it goes in football. We came with confidence and have to keep putting in performances just like that.”
Viktor Skripnik: “It looks like a muscle strain but are waiting on an exact diagnosis from the doctor. I am hoping that it isn’t anything too bad. We will know more tomorrow.”
