FC St. Pauli

Hauke Wahl on…

...the disallowed goals at Bremen: “VAR hasn’t been around too long, so for me yesterday was probably the game with the most disallowed goals. I’m actually never sure whether a goal is going to count or not. I was really glad when Bremen’s first goal was ruled out because it resulted from my mistake. I was happy after the second as well. It’s a relief when both decisions go your way.”

...going four games without a defeat: “We’re finally getting the rewards for all the hard work this season. You can see the progress we’re making because we probably would have lost that game in the first half of the campaign. It’s good to know that if we don’t win a game, we don’t lose it either. At the moment it’s not about the number of games we’re undefeated but simply about the points we want to stay up. That gives us more confidence than the run.”

...the possibility of securing Bundesliga safety at the weekend: “It’s an awesome home game for us, of course, because a lot is at stake. For me it’s a bit like the game against Osnabrück last year because we have a huge chance of staying up. I remember how the fans carried us through that game. It was amazing. We need to understand the game is a huge chance for us. If we do, it’ll give us another couple of per cent. The Millerntor will be on fire on Saturday and there’s nothing better than celebrating staying up on your own ground. We want to get there with all the means at our disposal, so it’s important we train well this week. We have to be fully focused and give a good performance over 90 minutes on Saturday.”

Hauke Wahl (seen here heading the ball) and his fellow defenders had plenty to do in the reverse fixture at Stuttgart, which the Boys in Brown won by the only goal.

...opponents Stuttgart: “They played in the Champions League this year and are in the DFB Cup final. We’re up against enormous quality. In the first game we showed we can muster everything we have and hold our own. We were lucky in some situations, but you need that luck. In recent weeks we’ve proved that we can upset good teams if give it all we’ve got. That doesn’t always mean we get a result because the individual quality of some teams is just too high, but if we can get close to our peak levels, we’ll increase the likelihood of picking up points.”

...Stuttgart’s attacking options: “They all have high individual quality, but it isn’t just them, there’s also Angelo Stiller in holding midfield, Chris Führich and Jamie Leweling on the flanks and others, too. It’ll be important for us to stay solid and work against the ball as a unit, as it has been all season. We didn’t do that very well in the second half at Bremen. We were too far apart and that just gives the opposition too much space in the pockets and a chance to turn on the heat and run at our backline. We have to do better there.”

...Heidenheim versus Bochum on Friday night: “We’re obviously interested in what happens there but we’re focusing on our game. We have no control over what other teams do. I won’t watch it. I don’t watch much football in general. Games involving our rivals aren’t good for my heart (he grins). I watched Kiel against Düsseldorf last year and switched it off after half an hour because I can’t do it. I went for a half-hour walk instead.”

Photos: FC St. Pauli/Witters