"There are many positives to take from the game"

Quotes from the game against Hoffenheim

Disappointing result from the season opener against Hoffenheim: Max Kruse (Photo: nordphoto).
First Team
Saturday, 19.08.2017 / 16:39

For a long time it looked like the Green-Whites could take something from their season opener  away from home against Hoffenheim. Until the 84th minute, the Werder defence held strong under intense pressure from the hosts. “To lose to a goal like that, is obviously not nice at all”, Florian Kainz said after the final whistle. The Austrian had a big chance to put Werder into the lead in the first half. “I should’ve scored that, there is no excuse for missing a chance like that, “he said after the game.

WERDER.DE spoke to some of the Werder players and staff after the game and here is a summary of the most important quotes after the frustrating opening day loss.

On the way the game played out:

Bad stroke of luck: Robert Bauer consoled after the final whistle (Photo: nordphoto).

Alexander Nouri: “We showed a great account of ourselves defensively against a strong Hoffenheim side. They have lots of individual quality and pushed us very hard. Towards the end of the second half we could have taken better advantage of our counter-attacking opportunities.”

Frank Baumann: “In the first half we defended well and I think we had the momentum towards the end of the first half. In the second half, Hoffenheim were definitely superior. Of course we are disappointed that we didn’t get anything from the game.”

Max Kruse: “We all knew that Hoffenheim would challenge us defensively. We could have been more courageous and more aggressive in certain situations. We have to work on that aspect during the week and improve on it for next weekend.”

Florian Kainz: “Clearly we had to defend a lot today and so to lose despite defending so well is hard to take. Despite this, I think that there are many positives to take from the game, and lots of things to build on.”

On the difference between the first and second half:

Maximilian Eggestein and co. couldn't create enough chances in attack (Photo: nordphoto).

Alexander Nouri: “In the first twenty minutes, we played really well. For the majority of the first half, we were arguably the better team and created some good chances. In the second half, we couldn’t withstand the enormous pressure Hoffenheim put us under. We just couldn’t find the answer to the problems they caused."

Frank Baumann: “We were very strong today defensively against a good opponent – especially in the first half. However, in the second half, the strain was too much. When Hoffenheim brought on Gnabry and Kramaric, we struggled to get forward and just had to work hard to keep them at bay.”

Robert Bauer: “The first game of the season is never easy. I think that we played pretty well in the first half and were fairly strong offensively too. However, in the second half, we let Hoffenheim shoot too much and that led to the lucky own goal.”

On conceding the deflected goal:

Frank Baumann: “The fact that the ball took such a great deflection off Robert is frustrating. We can’t blame ourselves for it but it can happen.”

Robert Bauer: “I tried to block Kramaric’s shot. The way the ball deflected off my chest right into the corner is obviously annoying. It’s still going to annoy me over the next few days but we just have to prepare for the next game and forget about it.”

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