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Kenan Karaman looks beyond the 2-0 defeat in Bochum: “The season is a marathon”
When Kenan Karaman turned the ball into the opposition net in the 76th minute in Bochum on Saturday (31/01), celebrations were initially raucous. However, that joy of potentially reducing the deficit was short-lived, since the VAR spotted that Edin Džeko had handled the ball in the build-up.
“When the ball hit the net, at first, I had not expected the goal to be ruled out. The referee then informed me”, reported the Royal Blue captain, who had briefly celebrated 20 minutes prior, as well. Nikola Katic’s goal also did not stand after Michael Bacher adjudged the Schalke centre-back to have fouled VfL keeper Timo Horn following Soufiane El-Faouzi’s corner kick delivery. “I think that goal could have been given”, believed the skipper.
The fact that the Knappen left the field on the losing side was not a result of these two instances, however, explained Karaman: “Even if we did not have luck on our side on either of those occasions.” He analyses the events of the opening period as playing more of a role in VfL’s eventual 2-0 win. “We were asleep for almost the entirety of the first half. We did not want it enough when going into challenges and Bochum were always that stride quicker to the ball. We particularly did not present ourselves well for the two goals conceded, when we were far too passive as a team”, said the 31-year-old.
We had moments after half-time in which we could have sparked the comeback.
“And when you trail 2-0 at the break in Bochum, it is going to be a tough ask. Nevertheless, we had moments after half-time in which we could have sparked the comeback but were not clinical enough too often at the top of the pitch, making too many poor decisions”, judged the forward. He included himself in this criticism, thinking back to the 52nd minute, when he directed a shot too centrally, straight at Timo Horn. The right-footed attacker could also have played in one of his teammates: “I thought about things for too long in that situation and now I’m beating myself up for it. I definitely could have done better.”
Karaman tells that, despite the painful defeat, it is now important to analyse the 90 minutes quickly before moving on, with a different game on the horizon this coming Saturday (07/02) against Dynamo Dresden at the VELTINS-Arena. “It is time for us leaders within the team to step up and show our teammates the way forward”, emphasised the club captain. “We always knew tough times like these would be on the agenda, but it will not derail us. I recognise the fact that we work hard every day and are a tight-knit team with good spirit in the dressing room. We have always reiterated that the season is a marathon, not a sprint, and we have 14 games left to go still. We need to do better in each of those than we did in Bochum.”
