Dimitrios Grammozis: We defended naively

Schalke lost 4-3 at home to Hansa Rostock after a last-minute winner for the away side on Saturday (05/03). Head coaches Dimitrios Grammozis and Jens Härtel gave their thoughts after the game, as did Schalke players Martin Fraisl and Kerim Calhanoglu.

Dimitrios Grammozis:

We knew that the opponent would be really strong from set pieces and in the transitional phases. We didn’t show the desired aggression today, especially when the ball got turned over. That goes for both our own set-pieces, after which we defended really poorly at the other end, and when giving the ball away. We were always close to getting the ball but we never really knuckled down and so we allowed the opposition too much space. We defended really naively today, we are all really disappointed and we will have to break down this match with the team tomorrow.

Jens Härtel:

I am proud of how the team performed today. They put the match plan into action well. Obviously then you need a bit of luck as well. We defended with everything that we had and going forward we used the set-pieces that Schalke gave us with ice-cold precision. We managed to do away what we couldn’t pull off at home. We would have been able to live with a point but to win 4-3 in the end is an enormous help given our situation.

Martin Fraisl:

We wanted to pull off a result no matter what. We didn’t do too well with the spare men at the back, we gave the ball away too cheaply for the first two goals we conceded. So we ended up being countered and we had to endure two goals for the opposition. Their third goal was a set-piece and the real sting in the tail came in injury time. Just an unbelievably tough pill to swallow. The fans cheered us from the start because they could see how much we wanted it, but simply put too many things went wrong for us today.

Kerim Calhanoglu:

Before kick-off I was happy to hear that I would be starting the game. Overall it was really disappointing stuff from us as a team. We have to analyse that. It gives me confidence to have been directly involved in our first two goals. The game was crazy at the start with lots of long balls and we made it hard for ourselves really. We pushed to score the fourth and make it 4-3 and then came a counter to end it with the opposition scoring the winning goal. That late goal is like a dagger to the heart.

Dimitrios Grammozis: We defended naively