FC St. Pauli

Head coach Fabian Hürzeler: "We started well and gradually began to dominate, and though we didn't have any clear-cut opportunities, we were a constant presence around the box, won lots of second balls and pressed Nürnberg well, which allowed us to pin them back in their own half. We took a deserved lead but had a stroke of luck when Jens Castrop popped up in front of Niko and Niko produced a good save. After that we were back on our game and took a deserved two-goal lead. Compared with last week, we were busier for longer and more dominant. We ran at Nürnberg high up the pitch and put them under pressure. I'm satisfied with the result and with the performance as well all in all. I'd like to wish Nürnberg all the best for the rest of the season."

Marcel Hartel: "It was a commanding display and deserved win. We made a some minor mistakes but that's part of the game. We expected them to defend deep and that's how it was. We remained very composed and stuck to our game. After the second goal we continued to knock the ball around nicely. Last week we set out to get back to basics, which means working hard defensively and keeping a clean sheet. We did that really well against Hertha last week and against Nürnberg today. We're defending as a unit again and have quality up front. We all know each other's runs. We've internalised the patterns, which allows us to create chances. We've got our rhythm back when you look at the last two games, though the break will do us good and gives us a chance to wind down again and get back to 100 per cent."

Johannes Eggestein: "We can be very pleased with the 90 minutes. We only had a few phases where we lost control. Overall, it's a comfortable away win that could have ended three or four nil. We dominated the game like we did against Hertha. That's how we  see ourselves playing and so we have reason to be satisfied. We expected Nürnberg to come at us more aggressively in the second half, which played into our hands a bit because it gave us space for our build-up play. We had lots of possession as a result and with it lots of control, which is one reason we were in the game so well. In the last few games I've had chances I didn't take. Before that there was a phase when the ball often didn't come. Today, everything fell into place again. The ball came and I had enough determination to put it in the net. I'm obviously delighted to have done my bit for the win with a goal and an assist, but we have to keep calm and focus on the things we can control. We'll use the international break to wind down and recover and then we'll target the last few games."

Christian Fiél (Nürnberg head coach): "Congratulations St. Pauli on the win. We knew who we were up against today and we knew they would dominate. We didn't make good use of the moments when we had the ball and couldn't relieve the pressure at all. St. Pauli's gegenpressing was really good. We lost too many tackles and gave away possession too easily and St. Pauli got more and more dominant. We defended very well in the first half and conceding just before the interval was a bitter blow. St. Pauli were worth their lead because they had lots of control. When you concede a second against a team like them in the second half, you consider running at them higher up the pitch, but they come up with solutions and you run the risk of conceding a third or a fourth, which we don't want to do. In the end you have to congratulate St. Pauli on a deserved victory.“

Photos: Witters