FC St. Pauli

Head coach Alexander Blessin: "First of all, congratulations to Halle on the performance. We knew we had a tough game in front of us. It was very intensive and we're glad to have reached the second round. Our play simply wasn't quick or tidy enough in terms of our ball circulation and switching flanks and we didn't react well on losing possession in transition. Halle had too much time. We can't be satisfied but will take the fact that we came from behind twice, ironed out mistakes as a team and eventually saw the game out. We beat the cup curse and are now looking forward to the home game against Heidenheim."

Adam Dźwigała: "The boss sent me up front towards the end of the game and then the ball actually came straight to me and I met it really well. We didn't have our best day today. We knew Halle were a physically strong side and were coming into the game on the back of a good result. We just had an off day."

Johannes Eggestein: "We knew it'd be tough here in Halle but didn't expect to struggle the way we did. We had few answers in our attacking play, especially in the first half. We didn't press well, which meant Halle had some good chances. We wanted to be more dominant on the ball, but Halle defended well and closed down the space. We gave the ball away too easily. We changed things round in the second half and it was much better after that. We created more pressure and got the equaliser soon after the restart. Their second goal was unfortunate, but both goals were too easy from our point of view. Winning games late on was a hallmark of ours last season. We stand together as a group and that's why we're able to fight to the end, keep believing and turn games like this round. The equaliser just before the end was obviously down to Adam's individual quality. The finish with his left foot was outstanding. In the end it's all about going through. It was an important win for us a team, for our development and for the mood in the camp."

Mark Zimmermann (Hallescher FC head coach): "Thanks for the congratulations, which obviously don't help us in terms of the result. It was a top performance over 120 minutes. We wanted to start the way we did and maybe save an unstoppable one and get a goal at the other end. The equaliser just after the restart was tough as far as the timing was concerned, but we did very well to come back and regain the lead. St. Pauli had a lot of quality on the pitch. You can't keep them at bay all the time and not in the last minute. The lads are despondent, of course. The support was outstanding, the atmosphere was outstanding."

Photos: Witters