FC St. Pauli

Head coach Timo Schultz: "We started very well, exerting lots of pressure and dominating the game. We created chances and scored some nice goals. We could have got a couple more before the break. Guido Burgstaller's goal was symbolic. He has the composure to keep his head up. If we'd done that more often in one or two situations in the first half, i.e. keep calm, play the final pass with more composure and aim for the corner when shooting, we could have scored one or two more. Sandhausen did much better in the second half after changing things round a bit and we struggled to find a way into their box. When we drop the pace, don't move the ball around as fast and don't run our patterns as cleanly, it's evident that we lose the ball in areas that can be dangerous for us. That said, we didn't give too much away at the back, but we can do better. Conceding from a set piece is part and parcel of the game. Nevertheless, I didn't feel we rocked that much. Fortunately, we were able to add a third. We deserved to win. We'll use the time to recover now and we go again at Nürnberg on Sunday.

Marcel Hartel: "It was a deserved victory and an outstanding first half from us. We came out wanting to make a statement after the 4-0 defeat at Darmstadt. We wanted to put it behind us and take the fans with us from the start, and we did that perfectly in the first half. We were a bit sluggish after the break and not fully awake. We lost the ball too easily and conceded the goal. We still had a few chances even though we weren't on the ball mentally and could have scored a few more."

Philipp Ziereis: "We had a great first half but made life difficult for ourselves after the break. Our passing wasn't sharp enough and we didn't win the tackles, which is why Sandhausen came back into it. Nothing would have happened if we'd been more resolute and got the third goal sooner. We were on fire in the first 15 to 20 minutes and maybe we thought it would be easier than it was. It has to be our aim to keep it going for longer, but we were well worth the win in the end. It was important to show a reaction after the 4-0 defeat at Darmstadt."

Leart Paqarada: "We made a brilliant start to the first half and took a deserved two-goal lead. We then got a bit sloppy, but we got the three points and are top of the league – what more could you want?"

Alois Schwartz (Sandhausen head coach): "We knew what was coming and still got it wrong. St. Pauli scored with their first opportunity and nearly crushed us after that. We were very timid, far too passive and allowed them to get the better of us. They played cat and mouse with us at times. We corrected things a bit after that and pressed them better. We also changed things round at half-time to pressure the ball better and be braver going forward. We managed to do that in part and it was a more even game. We went two down early on and then fought our way back but unfortunately we didn't get our reward. We deserved to lose in the end and we have to put it behind us."

Dennis Diekmeier (SV Sandhausen): "We had a hard time getting into the game and didn't play well, whereas St. Pauli did. We made a change for the second half and got into the game better and pulled one back. We pressured them and had the chance to make it 2-2, but then conceded the third goal on the counterattack. It was very tough for us after that. All you can say is that we were asleep in the first half.

Immanuel Höhn (SV Sandhausen): "We started very badly and were fortunate only to be two down at the break. We did well after the interval and when we scored I felt that we were back in the game. We had a spell where we managed to exert some pressure but we shouldn't be conceding a third in a phase like that.

Photo: Witters