FC St. Pauli

Head coach Jos Luhukay: "All in all, Bochum deserved to win because we never really got going and struggled to carve out any opportunities. Bochum had the genuine chances, but the first situation led to yet another penalty and we found ourselves behind. Bochum were more assured on the ball in the first half but didn't create much. We didn't have the key in attack to get the equaliser. In the second half we had more control but then Bochum scored from a corner. We tried to bounce back but in the end we lacked the punch to take a point back to Hamburg. On the positive side, Christian Viet and Marvin Senger didn't surprise me. They played the way I hoped they would; both had to go off with cramp. It was also pleasing to see Christopher Avevor back after ten months out."

Robin Himmelmann: "The disappointment is huge. Once again, we failed to get a point at least away from home. Unfortunately, we conceded another early goal and the third penalty in a row. We have a bit of a break now and have to try to get it out of our heads before we go again against Aue, Hannover, Regensburg and Wiesbaden."

Christopher Avevor: "It's really, really nice to be back, but to be honest the disappointment at losing outweighs the positives. A look at the table shows how tight it is, so it's all the more galling not to have taken at least a point. The task now is to go all out to secure our second-division status. The onus is on the experienced players to lead by example and I'm 100% sure we'll do that."

Luca Zander: "Our tackling wasn't good enough and we should have played with more courage. We tried to throw everything at it but it's really disappointing. It'll weigh on our minds today and tomorrow but then we have to pull ourselves together, go out as a team and beat Aue next wek. The ground will be empty, so there'll be no fans to push us forward. We have to do it on our own but we're capable of doing that. We have enough characters in the team. We have to show a different side to ourselves and I'm absolutely convinced we'll do that and go flat out against Aue."

Bochum coach Thomas Reis: "We're delighted to have continued our unbeaten run. As in the past few weeks, we knew what was at stake and it was the first of five match points. We had a few problems early on when we allowed them to break a couple of times. Towards the end of the second half we gave the ball away too many times. These are things I really take issue with. In the end, though, we're pleased to have put in a decent performance in the second half and so we deserved to win. We have four games left now and we want to do as well as we can."

Robert Zulj: "We hit the ground running after the coronavirus stoppage and we're pressing the ball really well now. That was our shortcoming before the break. In the second division it's important to keep a clean sheet. We know we're capable of scoring up front. I'm fit now and not experiencing any pain and the team know how I like to receive the ball and how I can be of help. It's going very well, as you can see. Let's hope it continues."

Photos: VfL Bochum/Witters