“Didn’t do enough to make the 15,000 travelling fans happy”

Yussuf Poulsen: We were the worse of the two teams on the whole today. It doesn’t matter whether we’re playing at home or away but today was barely even an away match, since it felt like playing at home. We hadn’t given much away in recent weeks, but the opposition’s chances were just too presentable today and we did not defend well enough on a few occasions, which is frustrating. Today was one of those days on which too many things were going wrong – we could have definitely done a better job. We displayed good defensively showings away to both Gladbach and Union. The final table is what matters what all is said and done. Today, we didn’t do enough to pick up points or make the 15,000 travelling fans happy. The distances these fans will go is really unique and I hope that we continue to receive this support, because we really need them. 

Daniel Heuer Fernandes: We obviously pictured things going differently today. It hurts and especially with so many fans having travelled. We need the strength that this club provides and have to continue to utilise that. That will lend us greater strength going forward. We want to stick together and get back to sharing in happier days alongside the fans. Next weekend, we need to deliver a different sort of performance. We have often seen that we can bring positive energy at home and hold our own against high-quality opponents.

“The support was unbelievable and I feel sorry for the fans that travelled.”

Miro Muheim: We did not deliver what we need to in order to pick up points against an opponent like this one. We were lacking a lot of that which has made us so strong in recent weeks. We were sloppy in possession and not good enough in the tackle. The start of the second half was good from us, even if we failed to cut the deficit and in the end it wasn’t enough. The support was unbelievable and I feel sorry for the fans that travelled. I can only say thank you to them. We will continue to work on ourselves and hopefully do better next week.

Fabio Balde: We gave it our everything, as we do in each and every game; however, not enough went right for us today. We encountered a tough opponent, who were essentially more efficient than we were. It feels as if Hoffenheim scored four times from five shots, while we did not take our opportunities. If that’s the case in a game of football, then it is going to end as it did. The fans were unbelievable and provided unwavering support.

“We know where we stand and need to utilise games like today’s in order to learn from them.”

Merlin Polzin: Each of the goals we conceded came about too easily. At the same time, we did not manage to benefit from our chances on the counter. It was a long afternoon that no one of a HSV persuasion would have enjoyed. After the team rallied and gave it their all in the second half, the penalty kick rather acted as a sign that the game had slipped away. It was a tough day for us. Nevertheless, it’s important for us to realise that days like this will happen from time to time this season, even if it’s not easy to take on the chin. We know where we stand and need to utilise games like today’s in order to learn from them. We’ll be working on that over coming week.

Christian Ilzer: We went about things with great intensity in order to combat HSV. We recognised that they are a multi-faceted side, due to their compactness, ability on the counter and positioning, which requires their opponent to immediately put their gameplan under pressure. That was also necessary. After half time and in the closing stages, you could see how easy it is to lose momentum against this opponent when you don’t remain precise and focused as a collective unit. HSV are a tough opponent who possess very passionate players and I am therefore even prouder of my boys for being able to record such a resounding win. A fourth straight home win makes for a nice way to round out the year.