„Had Chances to Equalise“

„Congratulations to Nürnberg on their home win. We played a very disciplined first half. In that first half, there were two scoring chances—one for us through Weißhaupt, and one for ‚the Club‘ following a corner kick. Other than that, not much happened. That was our plan: to keep the game as uneventful as possible for as long as we could.

After the break, we had one moment of indiscipline. We failed to cover the space at the edge of the box, and we became a bit frantic when in possession. Nürnberg took immediate advantage of that. The game opened up afterward, and there was a stretch where, in my view, we really should have equalised. Between the 70th and 75th minute, we had three good opportunities. The second goal effectively sealed the result. I don’t believe there was a huge gap between the two sides, but Nürnberg still deserved the home win.“

„We knew it would be a very difficult match. In the first half, we couldn’t find our rhythm because the distances between us were too great, and we failed to generate any real dynamism. The second half was much better. We addressed a few things, and that made a world of difference—in terms of our positioning, our dynamism, and our first touch. In the first half, we were running around far too chaotically. Afterward, we maintained much better composure in our positions and trusted the player on the ball to find the right solution. We managed to do that, which led to our first goal—coming early in the second half—and that was a huge help. At the same time, we knew that Darmstadt is a very good side capable of fighting back at any moment. For that reason, I would have liked to see the second goal come a bit sooner, but we are very happy to have secured the points.“

„We were well-organised and didn’t allow any chances. However, we started the second half poorly. The first ten to 15 minutes were a bit chaotic, with gaps that were too large. Then we conceded a goal and found ourselves chasing the game. Even so, we showed a good response and had opportunities to equalise. We also had a few transition moments in the first half that we unfortunately failed to capitalise on. Defending that deep takes a lot of energy—you can really see that in the players when they then have to transition into attack. Sometimes, that’s exactly what makes the difference. That’s why we need to string together more passes when we’re in possession. That’s a task for the entire team. I don’t want to pin the blame on any one individual; this is something we all share responsibility for. The international break now gives us time to work on ourselves and clear our heads a little.“

„The result is, of course, bitter. In the first half, we didn’t allow a single clear-cut scoring chance; apart from that, they really had nothing at all. We shouldn’t forget that we were playing against one of the best attacking sides in the league. Going forward, we managed to land a couple of jabs ourselves—that was part of the plan. The opening goal came from a situation we should have defended better. Even so, we showed courage afterward and had one or two moments where we could—or perhaps even should—have equalised. Had we found that equalizer, I’d have been curious to see how Nürnberg would have responded. As it turned out, we didn’t score, and ultimately lost 2-0. Still, we have to keep going; our last three performances were good, so today is clearly a setback.“