A strong second-half performance helped the Green-Whites claim a deserved point away at title-challengers Borussia Dortmund on Saturday night. "We really gave them a game in the second half," said former BVB player Nuri Sahin. "We came here to win and you could see that by the end," added sporting director Frank Baumann. We gathered the full reaction from the Bremen camp.
Nuri Sahin: “It was all Dortmund in the first half. After we made it 1-0 we really played well. Dortmund put the pressure on us but we came out much the better side after half time and we earned our point. We knew that Dortmund would try to put the screws to us but it was really annoying to concede straight after we scored.
Maximilian Eggestein: “We didn’t play well in the first half; in the second half we were much better. We’re pleased with the result, but if we’d played as well in the first half as we did in the second, we would’ve gotten more from the game. Our motto is that we always want to win but Dortmund had their chances too, so the result was a good one.”
Marco Friedl: "We knew that we'd have to push ourselves to the limit today if we wanted to get a result. The team's mentality was fantastic. We shouldn't have given the ball away so easily early on though - that gave them room to work in. We improved after the break and even though Dortmund put us under pressure, we played well and could even have come away with the win."
Frank Baumann: “At half time we said to ourselves that we need to be braver in the second half. I thought it was phenomenal the way the team threw themselves into it, all without our normal back line. Maxi and Milot are not 100 percent yet but they gave it their all anyway.“
Florian Kohfeldt: “I am really happy with the result. We have to be happy with a point at Dortmund. We got off to a turbulent start. A goal is always good but it meant we focused too much on counterattacking and didn’t keep possession enough in the first half. We were also too passive out wide. We addressed that at the break and were a lot braver in the second half. We believed we could get something from the game. We were coming up against some top players but to concede from two headers is annoying. It’s because of the way we defended. We weren’t consistent enough. There was improvement on that front in the second half.”
Nuri Sahin: "You can interpret our situation in two ways. On the one hand we've become closer as a group as we kept thinking 'what else can happen to us?' On the other the lads who are coming back will give us new options and training will be better now. This week has been the best one since the start of pre-season. We were better on the ball, which was key for today's game. We had good players on the pitch. People often say that we have players just filling in gaps, but we are all good players and have quality. Grosso and Theo did a very good job today."
Marco Friedl: "Despite our injuries we can still live with the best teams in the league. You saw that today. We always have to give 100% and we did that this evening."
Frank Baumann: "We didn't have any fit centre-halfs and we still did fantastically. We managed to get something in the way of shots and played it out from the back too. I thought Grosso was fantastic. It's all a new experience for him. He can only benefit from this time. The way we played when we were behind against a team like that was brilliant."
Florian Kohfeldt: "I've always said that I have so much confidence in the boys. We've now taken seven points having already played Dortmund and Leipzig. We've sent a real message out in this period. We've made it a lot better for the players that will come back from injury now. I'm looking forward to having training sessions where we can play 10 vs. 10. We just need to take the spirit we have used in these games into future weeks. We have shown recently that we can deal with anything. Today's game is like a little reward for what we've been through. A point means a lot."
Marco Friedl: "Normally I stay back, today I went up. I am happy that I contributed to the draw in this way – emotions ran wild during the celebrations. Every player’s first Bundesliga goal is an unforgettable moment to them, but it was important that mine helped the team out today."
Josh Sargent: "My job was to attack the first post, so I faked a run towards the back, ran to the front and won my header. It led to the goal, which I’m psyched about."
Maximilian Eggestein: "I was really happy for him. He scored his first Bundesliga goal in true centre-forward fashion. We worked a lot on corners this week, which makes me even happier about the goal."
Frank Baumann: "Marco is a striker by trade – he was re-educated so to speak in the U17s and today he was able to display his eye for goal."
