A last-minute free kick winner, a goal given because of VAR, a red card for the home side and an injury to Jiri Pavlenka. There was a lot to discuss as SVW took on Frankfurt this afternoon. The 2-1 victory meant that Werder picked up their first win of the season, but it was hard work.
Florian Kohfeldt: “The game was going to plan for the first 30 minutes; we were controlling the game, creating chances, and pressing well. Things became a bit more frantic after the red card. We were playing on the counter too often and we weren’t creating as many chances. After the injury to Pavlas, it looked as though Frankfurt had the extra man. We want to play better than we did today, but the main thing was winning and we did that.”
Martin Harnik: “The penalty knocked us for six a little bit. We were often having chances that we weren’t finishing, but we deserved the win in the end. With four points on the board and the DFB Pokal win too, we can go into the international break happy.”
Davy Klaassen: “We created a lot of chances and it was a shock when Frankfurt equalised. We need to take our chances more, but we’re happy to get the three points.”
Frank Baumann: “We can’t be content with our performance, but we’re happy about the result.”
Ludwig Augustinsson: “The injury to Pavlenka wasn’t good for us, but we’re happy that we won in the end thanks to Milot Rashica’s free kick.”
Philipp Bargfrede: “The celebrations after the goal were great; thankfully I was closer to the bench than the others (laughs). We got the win with almost the last kick of the game - it's massive. We should have created more in the second half though."
Max Kruse: “We didn’t play well in the second half and we couldn’t find a way to score. We really didn’t play well before the winning goal. We need to play better when we’ve got an extra man and we’re a goal to the good. Everything changed after the red card and we should have finished the game off earlier, but we’re happy to get the three points.”
Milot Rashica: “It was a very aggressive game. The fans spurred us on for the whole game. We wanted to win no matter what and that’s what we did.”
Florian Kohfeldt: “Pavlenka is in the hospital and he'll stay there tonight under observation, but he's conscious and communicating. That's the good news."
Martin Harnik: “I’ve just heard that Pavlas is in the hospital. I hope he’ll be back soon.”
Davy Klaassen: “It didn’t look good. It was a shock to the game and it was difficult to play just afterwards.”
Frank Baumann: “We’re hoping that it’s nothing serious, but we don’t know how long he’ll be out for and we don’t want to take any risks.”
Ludwig Augustinsson: “I wanted to play the ball back to Pavlas, but the header was way too short. It was a big mistake from me, but that’s football. I hope that Pavlas is ok and that he’ll be back soon. That’s the most important thing.
Philipp Bargfrede: “The two of them collided pretty badly, it was definitely something that shocked us. I hope that it’s not too serious.”
Max Kruse: “I wish Pavlas a speedy recovery and I hope that he’ll be back fit soon.”
Milot Rashica: “It was difficult for us when Pavlas had to go off. I hope that it’s nothing serious.”
Yuya Osako: “I'm glad. He gave offside at first but then gave the goal. A goal is a goal (laughs). The fans were loud, but they were even louder when Milot scored."
Martin Harnik: “VAR is an emotional rollercoaster, but it’s part of football now. It takes away from the emotion of scoring a goal, but it adds to the excitement (laughs).”
Davy Klaassen: "VAR can be pretty crazy, but I think that it's a good thing. It doesn't take too long sometimes."
Philipp Bargfrede: “I had the feeling that it was onside straight away, so we don’t need to talk about VAR today. When the referee reviewed the goal, I was anxious about whether he would give it – they were tense moments.”
Florian Kohfeldt: “Luca played with great authority today. He’s still very young but he’s already a good keeper. No matter how long Pavlas is out for, I know that we’ll have a Bundesliga-quality goalkeeper on the pitch, as we’ve got enough quality keepers in the squad.”
Martin Harnik: “It was a difficult debut for Luca with the penalty but it didn’t faze him. He’ll grow in confidence from game to game. I wouldn’t be worried if Pavlas is out for a while.”
Davy Klaassen: “He’s a part of our team and played well. We trust in him completely.”
Frank Baumann: “Luca is a huge talent in goal. Sometimes you have to throw your young players in at the deep end. He’s very confident and we trust him, but he needs game time.”
Max Kruse: “Luca is still very young, but he makes his voice heard in training despite his age. He’s part of the team like everyone else and did well today."
