The Green-Whites couldn’t escape the plaudits following their narrow defeat in Dortmund. Opponents, journalists and fans all heaped praise on the team, but in the end it counts for little when all three points stay in Dortmund. "Only points matter,” said head coach Florian Kohfeldt at the break, before adding: “We always played for the win and the chances were there. The way we played was good."
WERDER.DE brings you all the important quotes following the 2-1 defeat.
Maximilian Eggestein: "I think it could have gone either way – a heavy defeat or an equaliser for us. We didn’t want to park the bus, we wanted to be bold and even push forward at 2-0 down. We had good chances, but didn’t make the most of them. The bottom line is that we were caught on the break far too often. We wanted to avoid that, especially from corners."
Max Kruse: "We shouldn’t be proud that we didn’t let Dortmund run away with it today. We wanted more and it was possible. We played well away from home, but didn’t make it count in the decisive moments and were caught on the break too often."
Nuri Sahin: "I really respect the coach for coming here and wanting to play our game and not park the bus. There are many better things than having to have Marco Reus or Jadon Sancho running at you with pace. We largely held them off and played a decent game, defending well most of the time. With a bit of luck, we might have taken a point with us and few would have argued it was undeserved."
Sebastian Langkamp: "Dortmund are a really stable team then will be top for a long time this season. We did well between the lines, but wanted to eventually defend higher up the pitch in a diamond. It would have been nice to have that lucky punch today, but it wasn’t our day. At times we were lacking a bit of cleverness. I think we should have won a few more key duels."
Frank Baumann: "We showed the same passion as we did against Düsseldorf, but conceded two unnecessary goals, even if BVB had other chances. I have to say, compliments to the team and coach for how bold they were today, knowing exactly how dangerous Dortmund can be on the break. We put up a fight for 90 minutes, but couldn’t manage to find the equaliser, which is why we are disappointed."
Florian Kohfeldt: "The boys played a good game. After the second goal we had an attacking phase with many chances. We always played for the win and the chances were there. The way we played was good. The result obviously not so much. We don’t want to have to change the way we play. We want to come to Dortmund and still play football."
Max Kruse: "Other teams with different opportunities have the same goal as us. We know that it won’t be a walk in the park, it will be hard work and we know that there will be mini-crises along the way. We have two games left and then we can evaluate over Christmas."
Nuri Sahin: "I’ll be honest. We’re In touching distance of where we want to be. Our goal hasn’t been compromised. Everyone knows what needs to be done. We know where we have dropped points, we can be annoyed with ourselves about that and we need to make up for them in the second half of the season. But I’m very optimistic based on our current situation. We have many young players in our ranks who are learning. We’ll see where we are at the end of the year."
Florian Kohfeldt: "Our season aims won’t change. We want to get better and need to accept that results won’t always go our way. But we’ll develop through a game like this.”
Maximilian Eggestein: "We’re disappointed, but we don’t have time to look back. On Monday we switch our focus to Hoffenheim. We want to win both matches before Christmas."
Sebastian Langkamp: "We need to recover quickly and get something from the Hoffenheim game."
Frank Baumann: "We still have two games, one of those against Hoffenheim who we can overtake in the table. That’s our aim for Wednesday’s game."
Florian Kohfeldt: "Even though the atmosphere is so great here in Dortmund, I look forward more to games at the Weser-Stadion. It’s a special place. We want to win there on Wednesday."
