Irvine: “We kept our belief today”
Sunday, 06. April 2025, 18:56 Uhr
The Boys in Brown picked up a point for the first time after going behind and it was no more than they deserved. After the game, the mood in the camp was one of satisfaction with the performance and the late point, though the consensus was that three would have been a better reflection.
Head coach Alexander Blessin: “We did a lot of things right over the 90 minutes and had some good moments both on and off the ball. We didn’t give much away, just the goal, which we should have defended better, and one other header. Our gegenpressing was outstanding. We saw the spaces and played the balls in with courage. In the first half we were a bit too fancy in the final third and our decision-making was wrong. We had opportunities to shoot there that we could have taken like Dapo did at the end. We could have been tidier in some situations, but we came back and showed we can do it. We’ll take the point, it’s an extremely important one. It gives us a good feeling going into the last six games.”
Jackson Irvine: “It was a really good performance from us today, maybe the best this season over the 90 minutes. We were clearly the better team – always busy, pressing well and excellent in the second balls and personal duels. We were extremely solid and gave very little away. After going behind to a fantastic header from a corner just before the break, we came back out and showed a superb response. All the lads who came on did really well and gave us a bit extra. We kept our belief and Dapo deserved the goal for his performance.”
Oladapo Afolayan: “I’m glad to have scored for the team. The lads didn’t deserve to be behind. They played very well and conceding the goal at the end of the first half could have knocked us out of our stride, so I have to praise to the team for keeping going and creating lots of chances in the second half. The equaliser was no more than we deserved. If the game had gone on a couple of minutes more, we might have won it with the momentum we had. It was obviously a nice moment for me, but it’s more about the team and staying in the Bundesliga.”
Hauke Wahl: “We can be very pleased with the performance. We were the better team for 90 minutes and only gave them two chances in the entire game – the goal and the Kleindienst header in the first half. Otherwise we defended very well and our gegenpressing was incredible. We were able to pin Gladbach back in their own half and created lots of chances. In the end we can’t really be satisfied with the result, of course, but if you score in the last ten minutes, you’re happy to have at least managed that. The point could be very important in the final analysis. It’s a performance we can build on."
Gerardo Seoane (Gladbach head coach): “We’ve taken a point, but we know it’s a fortunate one against strong opposition. We didn’t get going at all – on the ball or off it. My players defended with passion in the final third and threw themselves in the way of every shot, but the performance wasn’t up to our standards, neither in defence nor in attack. We’ve put in lots of good performances away from home this season, but today was one of our poorer ones. We need to analyse it now and deliver a better performance next week.”
Photos: Witters
