FIRST TEAM
08/06/2011

Reaction against Hannover 96

Hoffenheim suffered a 2-1 defeat in their first game of the 2011-12 season away at Hannover 96. See reaction to the match and the result below.

Holger Stansislawski: "The referee had clearly signalled an indirect free-kick, and our players were getting ready to form the wall. So it was unfortunate to concede the first goal the way we did. We had a lot of chances ourselves. But we lost two goals from set-pieces which we shouldn't have. We created a lot of good openings but our final pass was wayward too often. The boys gave everything for 90 minutes, and as the away team we played well. We just didn't score enough goals.

Mirko Slomka: As expected it was a difficult first game. Defensively, Hoffenheim made it difficult for us. The game was decided by set-pieces, and I'm happy that we came up with some clever ideas. Our fans were great, from the first minute to the last. I'm delighted to have taken three points from this game.

Tom Starke: "The referee clearly gave an indirect free kick. So I started to organise my wall. How could I have seen the ref's hand go down when there were 20 players in front of me? Of course it doesn't matter much now, but for me that was a wrong decision which cost us a goal."

Sejad Salihovic: "That was clearly a mistake by the referee. It's a bitter pill to swallow for us, we were just shocked. We responded well though, and have to try and take the positives from this match.

Jan Schlaudraff: "We put a lot into this match, and we had a bit of luck getting the win in the end. The referee Kinhöfer told me that the free-kick could be taken quickly, so I shot at goal. I don't think it was unfair, it was clever.

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