A successful run out with important lessons

“We should have scored two or three goals in the first half,” stressed the S04 coach. After taking the lead after 10 minutes, when Marius Bülter headed in a cross from Andreas Vindheim, the Royal Blues continued to create good chances from quick counter attacks, but failed to take them.

The best opportunities were spurned by Dominick Drexler, who was denied from a tight angle by Timo Horn (13’), and Darko Churlinov, who put the ball past the post from close range (38’). “We need to learn our lesson from this. Things will be a lot easier if we take our chances,” said Grammozis. He described the game against the side 8th in the Bundesliga as a “really good test for us”, adding: “We played against a good team from the Bundesliga that are not in a relegation battle and are looking to climb the table.” The S04 head coach was also happy that his players followed his instructions: “We want to be active and contribute to the game – and we did that.”

Drexler reflects positively

Dominick Drexler, who played for a little over an hour against his former club, was also happy after the friendly. “We created lots of chances and a number of players got some valuable minutes too”, said the midfielder. For Drexler, the aim of friendlies is often to work on tactics and the team chemistry. “Good positioning, runs in behind at the right times and good pressing are all things you can fine-tune during a friendly. We did all those things well,” commented the 31-year-old.

Pálsson in the middle of a back-three

Victor Pálsson played in the middle of the back-three until his substitution in the 64th minute. “We wanted try out Victor in this position. We wanted him to be somewhat familiar with this role in case he needs to play there,” explained Grammozis. Pálsson had actually played there a few times during his time in Darmstadt. “We wanted to refresh his memory here. He did a good job.”