FIRST TEAM
11/30/2019

Bičakčić: "We made life difficult for ourselves"

Here's what the players and coaches had to say after the 1-1 draw with Fortuna Düsseldorf.

Ermin Bicakcic: "We stopped playing football in the second period. We lost possession of the ball too many times and made life difficult for ourselves. It was completely unnecessary; we should've been more courageous. We didn't do enough as a team. Conceding an equaliser like that at the end is tough to take. I'm delighted for Andrej personally. He always works very hard for it and he's obviously a hugely important player for us."

Florian Grillitsch: "We made a good start. After going 1-0 ahead, we still tried to be dangerous on the counter and to keep a clean sheet. Düsseldorf didn't have all that many chances; we defended well. We need to continue where we left off prior to these last two home games when we go to Leipzig. We mustn't lose heart. It wasn't all bad. We were defensively solid for the most part, but we can obviously do much, much better on the ball."

Andrej Kramaric: "I can't explain it. We're known for playing offensive and attractive football. But after going 1-0 ahead today, we didn't produce any more of that. We made too many mistakes. It wasn't our best day. I'm obviously still not yet at 100 percent. First and foremost, I want to stay fit."

Alfred Schreuder: "The reaction to the Mainz defeat was good in the first half. We had a lot of opportunities to add to our lead. But then Düsseldorf applied more pressure in the second half. Our switch play wasn't good enough and we gave the ball away too quickly. There were too many simple losses of possession. That mustn't happen, but it did happen. We didn't perform well in the second half. We need to be more courageous."

Friedhelm Funkel (Fortuna Düsseldorf coach): "I believe that the point is very much deserved. Especially given how the second half went. We applied a lot of pressure and really pulled out all the stops to get at least a point. We took some time to get into the game after going 1-0 down. But I always had the feeling that we would have a chance here. I'm delighted for the team that they got their reward."

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