FC St. Pauli

Johannes Eggestein on…

...the defeat at Leipzig: "All in all it was a decent away performance where we were solid at the back apart from the situation in transition. For the first goal we should have closed them down better and more quickly to stop the counterattack from happening. That's a point we have to improve upon, and it'll be important again against Freiburg. We have to be ready when we're on the attack and then they get an opportunity to break."

...the next matchup with brother Maximilian: "It's another special game for us. We're used to playing together from the early days in the garden or at Werder Bremen, of course, but playing your brother is always something of a challenge. He didn't begrudge me our win in the reverse fixture but was annoyed about his own performance. It'll be his first competitive appearance at the Millerntor, so I'm interested to get his take on it and hear how he rates the atmosphere."

...having a brother in the professional game: "Having someone who's already made the journey and can give me tips was always very helpful. When I made the transition from the youth setup to the senior squad at Bremen, which is a big step up, he helped me and shared his experience. We've always been in touch and given each other emotional support, especially when things haven't been going so well."

Johannes Eggestein in an aerial duel with brother Maximilian in the reverse fixture.

...his expectations ahead of the game: "I'm expecting another intensive game like it was in the reverse fixture. We defended very deep then and that took them by surprise a bit. They'll be better prepared for our tactical ruses now. It'll be interesting to see how they approach it. We'll prepare very well again and have already come up with something. We're hoping to get another win. If we stay compact as a team, we'll pose Freiburg lots of challenges."

...the progress made since the reverse fixture: "We've settled into the league in that time. We've secured some unexpected victories, like the one at Freiburg, and sent a signal to the league that it's not so easy to pick up points against us. If you look at our compact shape and the small number of goals conceded for a promoted side, it's hard for any team to get a result against us. Our target for the second half of the season was to take points off our immediate rivals, which we haven't been able to do. We also set out to get more home wins than in the first half to give something back to the fans."

...his contract, which expires in summer: "There's nothing to report at the moment. I feel very comfortable at St. Pauli. We'll see what happens in the next few days and weeks."

Photos: FC St. Pauli/Witters