FIRST TEAM
03/23/2014

Leverkusen match reaction

Here is the match reaction after TSG 1899 Hoffenheim's 3-2 win against Bayer 04 Leverkusen:

Markus Gisdol:It was important for us to stabilise after the Mainz game. We had to make one or two injury-enforced changes, and that's why I was pleased with the way we started. After the break, Leverkusen put us under a lot of pressure. We were fortunate in a couple of key moments as well. We've ended up with nothing after good performances enough times this season, and that's why the way in which we won today was irrelevant. After the game I spoke to Stefan Kießling and told him to forget the ghost goal. He's a good striker and a good guy too. I wanted to tell him that.

Sami Hyypiä:Credit to Markus Gisdol and Hoffenheim. I have no explanation for our performance in the first half. We lost the ball too much, didn't concentrate enough and didn't get stuck in. We didn't put our plan into place. In the second half, we did all we could for the win and played a lot better. We didn't take a lot of our chances and lost on a simple counterattack. We lost our concentration for a moment, and that's really annoying for us.

Sejad Salihovic:I'm pleased the penalty went in and that it helped towards the win today. We wanted to be better positioned than we were last weekend and we managed that. Congratulations to the team. I think we deserved to win, even if it was a little fortunate. We have often thrown away leads in the past. Today though, we stuck at it and rewarded ourselves for our efforts.

Kevin Volland:It was a hard-fought victory. We had planned to sit deep and let them come at us. Then we were clinical with our chances. We had a score to settle after the odd nature of the first game this season. Recently, I've not always been fortunate with my shots. To finish a counterattack like that was just fantastic.

Anthony Modeste:I think it was a really, really important win after the team's below us in the league won. We were twice as motivated after the ghost goal in the first meeting this season and gave the right response on the pitch today.

Alexander Rosen:The team put in a concentrated performance today. It was good to see the way in which the team responded after the game against Mainz last weekend. Sejad Salihovic is just one, cool dude. To score the way in which he did after last weekend's miss is just a sign of his strength. Leno has also saved five of the last seven penalties he has faced. Leverkusen put us under a lot of pressure after the break, but we held firm. Then the game turned in our favour. We now have one more point than in the whole of last season. But 32 points won't be enough. We have to push on.

Rudi Völler:The team are crestfallen. If you prepare so much and want to execute your drive to get out of a poor run of form and then lose the game in the last minute, that's always going to be tough to take. I thought we deserved a point after our performance in the second half. We've got to get back up now and finally pick up points.

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