Florian Kohfeldt’s pulse was definitely racing at the start of the second half. Despite taking a comfortable 2-0 lead into the break, the Green-Whites were unlucky to concede a soft penalty and Wolfsburg pulled a goal back. What followed was, as Zlatko Junuzovic put it, “crunch time” as Wolfsburg looked ever more dangerous. Kohfeldt said, “It wasn’t easy to keep up the intensity through this busy week but we remained consistent in training and really earned our victory.”
WERDER.DE caught up with the players after their first home victory of 2018 and put together some of the best reactions.
Max Kruse: “It’s a massive relief. Obviously at the break we spoke about not conceding at the start of the second half... We didn’t start the half well, even if it was a soft pen. Our aggression came back though after a while, which you need against this tough Wolfsburg side and we managed to regain momentum.”
Zlatko Junuzovic: “We can be pleased with the performance we gave. Perhaps we didn’t play our best but we finished off our chances well. We should have got that third goal before half time to really kill it off but still, to go in to the dressing room 2-0 up was great. We shouldn’t have conceded that goal, we started slow and it was sloppy. That kind of situation can turn the game, so the way we got back at them was huge. We won the battles and got the better of them during that crunch time. After that we were back on the front foot.”
Florian Kohfeldt: “There are a lot of positives that we can take from that game but also a lot of things we can improve on. We controlled the first half very well, built our attacks well and were clinical when we had the chances. The second half was a different story, however. In a game as big as this, you can’t concede goals as basic as that. Still after we conceded that goal, we regrouped and won ourselves the three points.”
Frank Baumann: “I am really pleased with the performance and the three points. We weren’t always good but we were clever. That was the way we set out to play. Even after we went 3-1 up Wolfsburg were still in the game so it was a great one for the fans. Luck was on our side today but I think we still deserved the win because we have put a lot of effort into this double game week. A massive congratulations has to go out to the boys.”
Niklas Moisander: “Finally we have got ourselves the home win! It was a huge victory for us that we have been working towards in the last few games. We have definitely put ourselves in a better position than a couple of weeks ago but the Bundesliga is so tight that we already have to start thinking about the next one. It won’t be easy but we’re on a good run of form at the minute.”
Max Kruse: “For us it was a really important matchday and we got a vital three points in the fight against the relegation places. The victory will give us confidence but we know that from here on in it will be tough. There are still a lot of tough games to go.”
Zlatko Junuzovic: “That was a massive game and a huge step in the right direction. We have taken full advantage of the opportunity we had today.”
Florian Kainz: “It was obviously a huge result for us but we are still not out of danger. We have made up some ground today on the teams in front of us but we know that the only thing to do is to keep fighting. Both of our next games are against our direct competitors so we have to keep this form up. It’s no excuse for us to let up now. We will head into the next game with our chest out and head held high.
Florian Kohfeldt: “Mentally it was a big challenge for the boys. We didn’t have to work our way into the game but rather hold our lead and they did that really well. But we can’t sit back now. Form is only temporary and with 23 points we know that we will need a lot more to get ourselves out this. Our next two games are huge; against Freiburg and Hamburg, there is absolutely no room for complacency.”
Frank Baumann: “It’s good that we have a bit more strength in depth now. In the last few games we’ve seen that every player has a role to play. Selection is difficult now because players have stepped up their game but people will just need to put their own interests behind them and give everything to the team."
Florian Kohfeldt: “We had a lot of options on the bench today; we could turn to Thomas Delaney and Jerome Gondorf. Against Schalke we were able to bring on Zlatko Junuzovic. That is a lot better for us, we have good depth in the squad and it’s all down to Frank Baumann to whom I owe a massive thank you.”
Max Kruse: “It was right at the start of the match. An interruption like that could have easily stalled our momentum so I kindly asked him to leave. (laughs)”
Frank Baumann: “It was really frustrating and completely unnecessary. That kind of event has no place on the field at the Weserstadion.”
Florian Kainz: “We could have done without it. The interruption sort of broke up our rhythm.”
