Martin Fraisl: We are definitely on the right path

“We were definitely the better team, and the shot count is clearly in our favour,” Fraisl said about the game against Hamburger SV. The goalkeeper was, however, frustrated that his side were only able to take home a point, despite their strong performance. “We didn’t come out on top in the one statistic that matters the most,” he said.

If their equaliser had come earlier than the 87th minute, then “We might have managed to score a second,” said Fraisl. He added that the team had given it everything over the full 90 minutes. “After the match, several players dropped to the ground. That shows you how hard the lads worked in order to win the game,” said the 28-year-old, who sees the team as “definitely being on the right path.”

Grammozis’ emotional speech to the team

Head coach Dimitrios Grammozis returned to the dugout, having missed the games against FC St. Pauli and Nürnberg after testing positive for Covid-19. “As a team, we could feel the joy that he was giving off when he returned on Thursday,” said Fraisl, adding that the coach was emotional upon being reunited with the team: “He told us that he had missed us.”

The Royal Blues have taken 30 points from their 18 games so far this season, and are level on points with HSV (30), who currently occupy the promotion play-off spot. Schalke are just behind, in fourth. League leaders St. Pauli (36 points) and SV Darmstadt (35) are not far out of reach. At least half the teams in the league still have a chance to finish in the top three. SC Paderborn, who are currently in ninth, are just three points back of third place. “The promotion race is crazy this season. You can expect it to be close all the way to the final day,” Fraisl said. “We want to be right up there, and performances like the one against HSV will allow us to compete.”