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Miron Muslic: Sometimes you need a special moment
Head coach Miron Muslic and his counterpart at VfL Bochum, Dieter Hecking, looked back on an intense game during the post-match press conference on Saturday (23/8). Schalke captain Kenan Karaman also spoke to the media from the mixed zone. schalke04.de have summed up all the key quotes from the trio.
Miron Muslic:
We’re delighted to have won such an exciting match. The atmosphere at the VELTINS-Arena was incredible once again, and the pre-match tifo was beyond words. Once again, the fans gave us a lot of energy to draw from. The first half was tough. It was an even match at that point with few chances on either end. We didn’t give up many chances from open play, but also didn’t have any opportunities of our own. Bochum were particularly dangerous from set pieces. With six or seven players in the opposition’s ranks that measure 1.90 metres or more, it’s not so easy to defend against situations like that. Loris Karius did a great job saving the penalty. He also made several other strong saves throughout the game.
We then started well into the second half. I had the sense that we were very much in the game. We then conceded almost out of nowhere after a well-worked counter-attack from Bochum. We didn’t give up afterwards, though. For seven, eight weeks now, we’ve been on a journey that we’ve embarked on together. Sometimes you then need a special moment that turns the game in your favour. This moment came for us when Finn Porath’s shot took a deflection off Hasan Kuruçay before hitting the back of the net. Bryan Lasme’s goal to make it 2-1 was sensational. His goal showed what a striker can do when they’re full of confidence.
Dieter Hecking:
Firstly, congratulations to FC Schalke 04 on the win. The game likely wasn’t the best in terms of the football on show, but it was instead marked by duels and emotions. It was very intense. We played well for the majority of the first half. Schalke didn’t have many chances in the first half, but neither did we. The penalty then offered a big opportunity to take the lead.
We managed to then do so in the second half. After going 1-0 up, we were on our way towards forcing the game to turn in our favour. However, I already had a bad feeling before the corner that led to the goal that made it 1-1. What can’t be allowed to happen after we’ve conceded an equaliser, is that we then concede a second time after a long ball. We should have defended better there. In the end, we tried everything we could but weren’t able to come to any more good chances. We have to work on this, in order to be able to win games like this going forward.
Kenan Karaman:
I’m very happy that we won. We fought until the end, after having made things a bit difficult for ourselves in the first half. During the second half, we were a lot better on the ball, even if we had to deal with the setback of conceding first. We continued to attack even after conceding and were rewarded with both goals. All our substitutes gave us fresh energy once again. It’s always good when we’re able to bring in a new impetus from the bench.
It was an important win for us, which we’ll be able to draw even more confidence from. At the same time, it’s important that we keep both feet planted firmly on the ground and continue to work hard. We can celebrate the win tonight, but from tomorrow our full focus will be on next weekend’s trip to Dresden.
