FC St. Pauli

Head coach Fabian Hürzeler: “It was a high-intensity game, albeit not a high-quality one. It wasn’t pretty, especially in the first half. Heidenheim could easily have taken the lead from one of the mistakes in our build-up play, but we got the opener out of the blue. That obviously played into our hands. The disciplined way my team defended in the second half was really good. They showed the mental strength needed to withstand the Heidenheim pressure. Even though we didn’t get out of our own half for two or three minutes at times, we stayed solid at the back and helped each other out. The longer the game went on, the better our counterattacks were and we could have made it 2-0. We’re delighted with the result. There’s no point in discussing whether it was deserved or not. I wish Heidenheim and Frank Schmidt all the best for the rest of the season.”

Marcel Hartel: “We went to Heidenheim full of confidence after the nine wins in a row. We made several simple mistakes in the first half, but we didn’t let it get to us, instead we gave a good performance and go back home with three points in the bag. We run our socks off week in, week out, and everyone wants to do their bit in defence to make sure we keep a clean sheet. Huge compliments to the team for conceding only three goals in the second half of the season. Up front, we’re scoring goals and that’s why things are going so well at the moment. We’re on a roll and performing well. We practised our finishing in training on Thursday and that included shots like the one tonight. They were flying into the net and so I thought I’d give it a go tonight. We can now enjoy our tenth win in succession. It’s helped us close the gap at the top. We have to keep focusing on ourselves and we have a tough home game against Braunschweig next week. It would be over the top to talk of promotion. We’d do well to keep taking each game as it comes.”

Leart Paqarada: “It was an incredible strike by Cello. We have been working on our throw-ins. That was rehearsed, the runs are just right. Apart from the chance for Tim Kleindienst, which he would stick away most days, we defended really well tonight and stayed solid at the back. To have conceded only three goals in ten games is amazing. No one will object if we keep winning. We’re in contention at the top and we’ve earned that over the last few weeks.”

Frank Schmidt (Heidenheim coach): “First of all, I’d like to wish FC St. Pauli and Fabian lots of success. I don’t want to contradict him, but I do think we deserved a point tonight. Both teams felt each other out in the first half, and both gave the ball away at times. There were no clear-cut chances at either end early on, but we should have taken the lead between the 20^th and the 30^th minute, when we had two golden opportunities. The chances were there but not the efficiency that has been our hallmark this season. St. Pauli had carried little threat up front before the goal. It was a fine strike, but too cheap from a throw-in. That shouldn’t happen. We knew the runs they make from throws and that they cross over and are very mobile. Marcel Hartel says he doesn’t score that often, but he hit that one really well. It was harder for us in the second half, as St. Pauli sat back. They closed down the space in their own half and in the centre. In the end I feel we deserved a point because we had the better chances in the first half, but you don’t have to see it like that. St. Pauli earned it with the matter-of-fact way they defended. We’re disappointed because it was a big chance to go further clear of the side in fourth but we’re still third on 51 points. It was clear we were going to lose at home at some point. After a defeat, you have to brush yourselves down and take good decisions to take another step forward again.”

Photos: Witters