After a tough evening clash in Sinsheim, SV Werder Bremen fell to a 2-1 defeat against a strong Hoffenheim side, breaking their three-game unbeaten streak away from home. The Green-Whites pushed for an equaliser right until the final whistle, but were ultimately let down by their inability to make the most of their chances in the first half. WERDER.DE were in the mixed zone after the game to gather the reaction to the defeat.
Head coach Ole Werner: “It’s frustrating to come away from the match empty-handed. We would have deserved to have picked up one point, maybe even all three. There were three or four points in the first half where we were unable to make the most of our chances on goal. On reflection, these were the key moments where we should have equalised, but couldn’t. We found it difficult to create chances in the second half, as Hoffenheim have players who can defend well and are quick on the counter. You’ve got to keep an eye on them so that you don’t send too many numbers forward. Nevertheless, we continued to apply pressure in the closing stages and got a goal back. In that respect, I can’t be too harsh on my team, as we did well away from home against a strong Hoffenheim side.”
Christian Groß: “I’m feeling very disappointed. We let ourselves down in the first half by conceding twice and not making the most of our many chances. Being behind at the break was the main reason we lost today. The late goal speaks volumes for us and the fighting spirit of the team. We believed in ourselves for the full 90 minutes, and even had the chance to make it 2-2 right at the end. But perhaps we didn’t deserve to come away with the point today.”
Michael Zetterer: “We didn’t make the most of our chances in the first half and annoyingly conceded another one just before the break. We went into half-time two goals behind. If one of our chances had gone in, it would have been a completely different game. Over the past few weeks, we’ve shown how well we’re capable of playing. We have to reflect on what went well for us against Freiburg or Bayern so that we can be more solid at the back and clinical going forward. If we can do that, we’ll be able to take the lead or score an equaliser, which would be very beneficial to us.”
Marvin Ducksch: “We saw that we are capable of playing really good football against a strong team like Hoffenheim. We’ve got to take the positives from that. We had our chances today, but simply couldn’t make the most of them, which we have to hold ourselves accountable for. We’ll keep our heads up and turn our focus onto next week’s game.”
Nick Woltemade: “We conceded from a set piece at the start of the game, which we can’t afford to do. After that, we had enough chances to score an equaliser, but were caught out on the counter just before the break. It’s frustrating to go into half-time two goals behind, because we had enough opportunities to equalise or even take the lead. We weren’t able to apply as much pressure in the second half. It’s very bitter.”
Romano Schmid: “We didn’t start the game well after conceding an early opener. If we had responded to that with an equaliser, it would have been a completely different game, as they wouldn’t have had the upper hand. We had enough chances for that to happen, which is why it hurts so much, as we had hoped to come away with more. During the week, we’ll need to analyse the ways in which we can apply even more pressure when we have a numerical advantage.”
