Post-Match Report
Reactions: “It was an advert for the league”
Lars Ricken (in the mixed zone): “The Bundesliga couldn’t have asked for a better spectacle to mark the end of the winter break. It was a great advert for the league. You could see that we had set ourselves a big task. The longer the game went on, the better and more dominant we became. It would have been extremely bitter to lose after putting in such a good performance. Even though we scored to make it 3-3, we’re more likely to be discussing why we didn’t win the game. We’re looking forward to two home games against Bremen and St. Pauli, in which we'll show fighting spirit.”
Niko Kovac (on Sat.1): “The spectators witnessed a good match, one that went back and forth. We should have won it due to the number of good scoring opportunities we created. We were fortunate to score the equaliser at the end – well, you have to be happy with that. I saw a good team performance from us. We did well to get in behind our opponents. I’m very happy with our attacking performance. But when you concede three goals, you can’t be completely satisfied. You have to be able to do both: you have to control the game and then make the right decisions by defending what needs to be defended at the back.”
Nico Schlotterbeck (on Sat.1): “After the 93rd minute, we’re satisfied with the result because we still managed to equalise. But basically, we played well, were actually better than Frankfurt, but conceded three goals, which is simply too many to win away from home. Unfortunately, we conceded the 2-2 equaliser too quickly after making it 2-1, otherwise it could have gone our way. So you have to take the point – but of course we wanted to start with three.”
Waldemar Anton (in the mixed zone): “We’re not satisfied. We had set our sights much higher and had the game under control for long periods. The goalkeeper saved a lot of shots that we could and should have been more precise with. Even so, we had a lot of chances. That’s why, to be honest, we’re more dissatisfied than satisfied. We had the opportunity to win the game. The only positive thing we can take away is the fortunate goal we scored and the fact that we believed in ourselves until the end.”
Felix Nmecha (on Sat.1): “I’m not satisfied. That was a game we had to win. Frankfurt didn’t have that many chances. Their goals were too easily conceded by us. But in the end, we have to be happy with the one point. We had some very good phases, but in the end, it’s the moments that decide the outcome in football, and they (Frankfurt) made very good use of them. We, on the other hand, didn’t take advantage (of those moments, ed.) so well. But we can definitely take away some positive things, even if it was a game we really should have won.”
Transcribed by Boris Rupert