FC St. Pauli

Head coach Fabian Hürzeler: “Today was an improvement on Kaiserslautern. We were dominant in the opening quarter of an hour and a constant threat in the opposition box but were unable to get our reward despite having some decent opportunities. We didn’t start the second half as well, but we defended well and didn’t allow them any clear-cut chances. And you have to say the Düsseldorf keeper was outstanding today. I wouldn’t say we weren’t hungry enough. What I would say is that we didn’t take our chances and that we have to make the most of the situations we have an influence over. All in all, I can’t really live with the point, but I know we’ll do a good job going over everything.”

Jackson Irvine: “It felt like it was a one on one between Kastenmeier and me today. I could have scored two and we had enough chances to score three or four. I’m still proud of the performance, though, and the way we held our own on this level against strong opposition in a high-intensity encounter. That said, I’m obviously disappointed we didn’t win. Kastenmeier produced two world-class saves against me. Maybe I dwelled a bit too long.”

Hauke Wahl: “We had quite a few chances and kept causing Düsseldorf problems, but I think we could have been more resolute in the final third. We should have taken the opportunities we had. Düsseldorf are an incredibly good side when you look at the individual players they have. I was delighted to make my home debut today. I always enjoyed coming here and as a native of Hamburg it’s very special for me to be able to run out for St. Pauli. It was OK for the first performance. I’m glad I was able to talk at length with Jakov, though I’m a completely different type of player and will try to bring my strengths to the team as well as I can.”

Karol Mets: “I hope the Dusseldorf player is fit and well, of course. It was a red card, the second of my career. It was a ‘ball or opponent’ duel, a fifty-fifty challenge and I wanted to win it with everything I have. If I hadn’t stepped in, the striker would have been in a one-on-one with Niko. I didn’t want to take the risk of him getting in behind the defence. It was a high-intensity game overall and I think we were slightly the better team. We had our chances, and so did Fortuna.”

Düsseldorf coach Daniel Thioune: “Both teams played very disciplined football today. The only thing that was missing was a goal really. I’ve been able to study Fabian Hürzeler’s philosophy for some weeks and months now and so we knew it would be stressful here again today. Basically we pressed the ball very well. We were well in the game in the first ten minutes and could have taken the lead with our first attack. St. Pauli came more into it as the first half wore on. We had our chances in the second half but couldn’t take them. On the other hand, we had a keeper who was excellent with both his feet and his hands and not everyone will save the Irvine chance in my view. The red card didn’t have that much of an effect on the game in the end and so I can live with the point all in all.”

Photos: Witters