"We’re putting in good performances"

MAINZ 05 2-0 FC AUGSBURG

Niko Bungert: “Augsburg didn’t make it easy for us. We had a very strong goalkeeper today who kept us in the game. We fought hard for it. From the very first minute you could see that we wanted the win. Small details are helping us enormously at the moment, which wasn’t always the case in the first half of the season. We’re sharp and hungry to reward ourselves, even if it’s just a throw-in that can end up being decisive. Nadiem then kept his cool twice. Those penalties were difficult to save. He has quality, consistency and composure, and that’s very important. We have a good feeling right now because we’re putting in good performances. Nevertheless, there are still things we’ll talk about. Things are looking good and we’ll carry on.”

Stefan Bell: “With the penalty, I tried to get to the ball before my opponent and was touched slightly. That’s why I went down, even if it wasn’t heavy contact. Overall, today wasn’t as good as in recent matches, especially in the first half. We were a bit sloppy in possession and sometimes the runs were missing. It was a lot of hard work, but after the break it got better and we were more active. Augsburg were the strong opponent we expected. From a footballing point of view, though, we still have room for improvement. In the end, we had our chances, just like Augsburg. We’ll take this hard-fought win. I’m very happy.”

Daniel Batz: “I haven’t seen any statistics yet, but the clean sheet and the win are what matter. We had some problems without the ball after taking the lead and were a bit too static at times. After the break, it got better, as we had control and scored the second goal at the right moment. Personally, I take every game as it comes and I’m happy to be playing in the Bundesliga, but I still have to prove myself every week. Every point helps us. It’s close, but there are still 13 matches to go.”