FC St. Pauli

Head coach Timo Schultz: “Definitely a deserved win for us. I think Schonlau’s sending-off had a big influence on the game. We were well in the game by then and had already created one or two good chances. We then got a bit wary, as HSV still had control of the ball. If you take the 90 minutes as a whole, we were well worth the win not only because of the man advantage. Huge praise for my players. They only had three days to rehearse our back three/five as well as they could. HSV have their own playing strategy and when you see how they performed today, the task for us was to secure the area in deep and on the flanks. We aimed to do that with an additional player in the backline. The lads had a good feeling after the training sessions and put it into practice really well. I didn’t really expect it to work that well, I have to be honest. It was a really good performance from my team. The way we threw ourselves in the way of the ball and defended forward was really good and the key to victory.”

Eric Smith: “Great! As I said after our last game, this was the game we needed. We started really well. The first goal did us good. We needed this win and battled hard for it. It’s a super feeling and I’m very happy. Just little things were missing in recent games, and we couldn’t hit the target. Today we did that. I hope this game is the turning point. Our work isn’t finished, of course. I’m not a typical goalscorer. When I scored, I jumped up, closed my eyes and hoped the ball would go in.”

Jackson Irvine: “I couldn’t have wished for a better game and a better result after extending my contract. Derbies are independent of the league table and any trends. It’s only ever about playing with heart and leaving everything on the pitch. We made some small tactical changes today and saw top-class performances from everyone. We hope this derby win will give us a boost for the rest of the season. It’s not hard to motivate yourself for a game like this. It’s pure adrenalin, especially from our fans. That’s what I said to the lads. We have to put in a performance like this week in, week out. When we show what we’re capable of, I think we’re one of the top sides in this league.”

Leart Paqarada: “I’m incredibly proud of the team. We started the game very well, were very physical and showed who’s the boss from the outset. The sending-off played into our hands, of course, but we did what we set out to do. The derby really is a law unto itself. We were also top of the league when we lost the derby last year. The standings are irrelevant. It’s about the form on the day and your attitude towards the game and the derby. You have to try to give it all you’ve got. We were determined to reward ourselves. I hope the fans had and have a great evening. The atmosphere was amazing. This stadium really can intimidate teams. HSV are still a superb team with enormous quality that you can only counter by standing together. With the fans behind us, that’s what we did. You can only be successful together. We now have a two-match week. A win like this can give you energy and you can draw confidence from it. I can’t wait to see what awaits us at Freiburg. We go there feeling confident.”

David Otto: “It's an incredible feeling to win the derby. We wanted to give something back to the fans. The results haven't come in recent weeks, which is why today's win feels so good. When we took the lead, we didn’t just want to administer the game, we wanted to keep going forward and add more goals. That was how I went into the game. I want to make use of the minutes I get. I want to show how dangerous I am in front of goal and convert the assists from my teammates.”

Tim Walter (HSV coach): “Congratulations to St. Pauli on the win. It was a hot-blooded game from the beginning. There were lots of tackles and lots of situations that could have been sorted at both ends. Today things went against us. The red card was obviously the decisive moment. You can give it. Sebastian Schonlau didn’t look too good there. We should have tidied things up beforehand. To be honest, we had them under control with ten men, we had more possession and tried to impose our game on them. We always want to be pro-active – even with ten men. St. Pauli took the lead then, which should never have happened. Small things are decisive. The 50-50 balls didn’t go our way today. We then got caught on the break because we kept trying to go forward and ultimately conceded a third as well.”

Sebastian Schonlau (HSV): “I haven’t watched it back, but I think you can give the red card. That was my responsibility, I didn’t close up early enough and then I should have stayed away. It was obviously the key moment today; it would have been a different story with 11 v 11. It was 0-0 at the that point, and St. Pauli had only had one chance.”

Photos: FC St. Pauli/Witters