FC St. Pauli

Director of sport Andreas Bornemann: “Mathematically it’s not done and dusted just yet and lots of things can happen in football, but we don’t expect to lose our defensive stability in the final game. We’ve put ourselves in a perfect position and hope to celebrate a nice party with the fans at the Millerntor next week. We’re taking the Bochum game seriously and aim to remove any remaining doubt.”

Head coach Alexander Blessin: “My summary is very short. We’re absolutely delighted with the point. We made a very unfortunate start to the game and found ourselves behind after just 24 seconds. We knew how good they are in transition, so it was all the more important to get the equaliser quickly and then we went in front after some excellent work by Ben. We defended very well and only gave Frankfurt space in areas where they couldn’t hurt us. We had to come through a difficult spell at the end but we defended well and we’re happy to take the point. It was a big step today.”

Ben Voll: “Straight after the final whistle we’re happy more than anything because it was an important point. A lot would need to happen now, so hopefully it’s done with. I really enjoyed it today even if it wasn’t my best performance. Before the game Morgan and I had talked about wanting to switch the play quickly if the space was there. It’s obviously great that it worked so perfectly. In my 70 third-division appearances I’ve kept trying to hit a pass like that one, but I've never managed it. I’m delighted it came off today.”

Eric Smith: “Yesterday’s games didn’t go our way, so the onus was on us today, but that’s a really good feeling as well. We had it in our own hands last year, too. Mathematically, it’s not 100 per cent certain. We’ll have to put in another good performance next week and sort it for definite, but it’s already an outstanding feeling. We had to get a point in one of the toughest away games and we did it. We’re even a bit disappointed about not taking all three points, but we’ll take the point and enjoy it. In the last 20 minutes we were on our last legs, every one of us. It was an incredible feeling when the final whistle went.”

David Nemeth: “Getting the equaliser straight after going behind to an early goal and then adding another one was important. The second half was a real battle defensively. It felt like we were pinned back in our own half, though we did play the ball out well occasionally. It was a super team performance and it’s a huge relief. The pressure was on before the game, but we’ve shown often enough that when we need a result, we get a result. That tells you all you need to know about this team.”

Philipp Treu: “We aren’t safe for certain, but basically you can say we’ve done it. It’s a weight off our shoulders after such a long season. We want to put the finishing touch on it against Bochum next week and give it all we've got one more time at the Millerntor to sign off with a win. The first goal was down to me because I didn’t close down the inside line. Going behind so early was a wake-up call and we recovered superbly after that.”

Photos: FC St. Pauli/Witters