Dimitrios Grammozis: We need to take our chances

Head coach Dimitrios Grammozis and his Kiel counterpart Marcel Rapp both spoke to the press after the 1-1 draw on Sunday (16/1). Martin Fraisl and Marius Bülter also gave their opinions on the game.

Dimitrios Grammozis:

We’re not happy with the result because we wanted to start the new year with a win and weren’t able to. It was a hard-fought game today. When you’re in control of your opponents like we were in the first half, you simply have to take one of the chances to go 1-0 up. I believe it would’ve been really tough for Kiel had we’d done that. We were strong at the start of the second half too. As long as it’s 0-0, the other side always knows that one chance can see them take the lead. The game became more open after an hour and they then scored their goal during that period. They gained energy and confidence from that. It was an open game with chances for both sides after their goal. It wasn’t easy for us because Kiel defended well.

Marcel Rapp:

I would have taken a draw before the game considering how many absentees we had today. Our lads played with passion, which is something that Holstein Kiel are known for. I think we deserved the point, though I have to say that Schalke had the better chances before the break. We’re on the right track – we already showed that towards the end of the first half of the season.

Martin Fraisl:

We had a few chances in the first half that we didn’t take and we then conceded unnecessarily. Even though we managed an equaliser, we needed to be more clinical for the win. We definitely showed the required fight.

Marius Bülter:

We had control of the game and created a few good chances too, but we weren’t strong enough in the final third. We weren’t able to carve out the real clear-cut opportunities. We were lacking a little bit in all areas to win the game. We had the chance to move up the table after the results yesterday, but we didn’t take it and that’s frustrating.

Dimitrios Grammozis: We need to take our chances