“So proud and so happy”

Mainz 05 2-0 sk Sigma Olomouc

Niko Bungert: “We are so proud and so happy. I had goosebumps before kick-off today. You could really feel what a special occasion it was. The team played a great game and dominated over the full 90 minutes. If you really want to find something to criticize, maybe we could have scored earlier. The way they stayed so confident, brave and true to our style over the full 90 minutes was impressive. The boys built on their good performances in recent weeks. We’re so happy to have reached the quarter-finals. The fact that we’re in a better position in the Bundesliga now means we can enjoy nights like this. The next game against Eintracht Frankfurt will be different to this, but I think we can take all three points.”

Stefan Posch: “That was a great performance from all of us, even in the first half. Of course, we should have taken the lead earlier, which has sometimes been our weakness. I’m obviously very happy about my goal. It was important for us to score right after halftime. The atmosphere was incredible. This is how we imagined it, and that’s how it turned out. Now we move on to Frankfurt. We’re on a good path, but still right in the middle of the relegation battle. In terms of Europe, we’ll just see how far we can go.”

Danny da Costa: “In the first leg, there were a few things missing that we definitely did better today. We kept the tempo much higher than in the first game. That caused them problems, and in the end, we deserved to go through to the next round. Of course, we would have liked to take the lead earlier. It was important that we kept a cool head instead of becoming impatient or rushing things and exposing ourselves to counter-attacks. We were very calm today.”