Dimitrios Grammozis: The lads were desperate for this point

The Royal Blues ended 2021 with a 1-1 draw away to Hamburger SV on Saturday (18/12). Dimitrios Grammozis and Victor Pálsson were proud of the team’s performance, which was worthy of all three points.

Dimitrios Grammozis:

It was an incredibly intensive game. We started really badly by going behind so early on. I’d like to praise the team today. The way they dominated the second half and pinned HSV in their own half by pressing them was fantastic. The scoreline is flattering for Hamburg. If we’d equalised earlier, through Darko Churlinov’s chance for example, then I believe they would have really been up against it. I’m certain we’d have won the game. They showed us more respect as the game went on and looked to sit deep and play on the break. We played brilliantly with patience and composure. It was a great performance. The lads were desperate for this point. We’re satisfied after tonight’s game, but we also know that we’ve got a lot of hard work to come.

Tim Walter:

We started brilliantly and scored with our first chance. It didn’t help us as much as it normally would do today. We still played well in the first half and only allowed them shots from distance. We then made a mistake with our first touch in the second half and that sort of continued. We weren’t brave enough in the end and invited them to win the ball from us and to create chances. A draw was the fair result ultimately. We were better in the first half, they were superior in the second.

Victor Pálsson:

We showed some real mental strength today. It’s not easy when you have so many chances and the ball just doesn’t want to go in. It’s disappointing to have not taken all three points. I’m proud of the team, it was a good performance. We’ve been improving really well and we showed what Schalke 04 is about tonight. It’s now important to enjoy our time off with our families and to recharge the batteries. We’ll come back, prepare well and then look forward to our first game next year.

Dimitrios Grammozis: The lads were desperate for this point