„It was fun to give it my all.“

„For me, Münster is one of the best possession-based teams in the league, purely in terms of their structure and courage. They’re among the hardest to beat. Accordingly, Münster was the tough nut we, as the coaching staff, had to crack during the week. It’s fun to watch and analyse Preußen Münster. We wanted to defend the centre and wait for opportunities to win the ball back. That worked out quite well. Overall, we had the clearly better scoring chances today – especially in the first half, but we also had our moments in the second half. Therefore, we deserved to win overall. We showed great discipline and passion defensively today, defending against Preußen Münster’s chances. We didn’t get flustered, but remained man-oriented. Apart from Mees‘ shot that hit the post, we didn’t allow anything dramatic. That was very good from us.“

„We knew beforehand what a strong home team we were up against and how energetic the game would likely start with. And that’s exactly how it played out. In the opening phase, we had a bit of luck in one or two situations. After that first fifteen minutes, however, we got into our rhythm and controlled the game with a lot of possession, although without creating any truly clear-cut chances. We had our moments. When you have so much possession around the box, you naturally have players who can create decisive opportunities from it. That didn’t quite work out today, though. In the end, we lacked the finishing touch from promising positions, and we need to deliver more crosses into the box from more interesting positions. Ultimately, I feel there was more in it for us.“

„Games we win without conceding a goal are the best for defenders. It was fun today to give everything to keep the three points here. We had a clear plan. We didn’t want to press Münster too high up the pitch because they integrate a lot of players into their build-up play, making them difficult to press. We didn’t allow anything except the shot that hit the post. But today it wasn’t just the defence that delivered a top performance, but everyone on the pitch.“

„We knew this could be an ugly game for us. It’s not about playing beautifully, it’s about winning. That was our primary goal, and we achieved it. That’s why we’re overjoyed. It doesn’t matter who we play against, we want to win. That was the case today, and it will be the same next week. If we have 35 points under the Christmas tree after the Paderborn game, that would be fantastic. If you want to be a good team and get a lot of points in this league, then it’s important to have a fortress at home. We’ve built that this year together with the fans. It’s tough to beat us here at home.“

On his position in central defence:

„It was a good plan of ours that worked out. It’s a different position than centre-back. But I think it’s a proven tactic for us. Because we can change so much, it makes us difficult for the opponent to predict. Playing with a back five does come at the expense of our attacking options a bit, but the most important thing is to withstand that. It’s about winning tackles and launching counter-attacks.“