Martin Schmidt: “We had it all nearly in our own hands until the end, but now we’re not any better off than before. That’s what it’s like in the relegation battle. We allowed Köln to dictate the game after the break and let the game turn into a kick and chase, during which they were more aggressive and won more second balls. That allowed them to keep creating more chances and space for themselves, and we saw that things can always go wrong. In the end, the result is fair as we didn’t deserve more. We’re still five points clear of the automatic relegation spots, and will continue fighting.”
Robin Zentner: “The game didn’t go how we wanted it to. The three points would have been extremely important – taking just one doesn’t really help us much. We now need to pick up points in Heidenheim on Sunday. I had the feeling that the referee really wanted to award them that penalty. I cleared the ball with my head, which is why I don’t believe it was a penalty. The explanation the referee gave was unbelievable, because I just can’t understand how I’m meant to have struck my opponent in the head with my fist. But, we also allowed them to push us too far back on the pitch after the break, and you could tell that we had something to lose. We didn’t really manage to play the way we wanted to at all. We could have managed to turn the game back on our side, but those moments were just flashes in the pan – ultimately, it wasn’t enough.”
Jonny Burkardt: “We’re left with a negative feeling, because we were ahead for so long and only conceded the equaliser late on. It’s a real blow, although the second half was poor from us – we let them push us too far back. I can’t really explain it, we just lacked the confidence to push up. Given the situation we’re in, we can’t let something like that happen, where Köln gain the upper hand. We didn’t have what we needed to break free of that pressure. Relying on our hopes isn’t enough, and that’s not our style. We’ve still managed to hold onto our lead over the bottom two, and from tomorrow we need to continue to do everything we can in order to win in Heidenheim.”
