FC St. Pauli

Head coach Jos Luhukay: "It was very close for 90 minutes and both teams were very physical. I'm happy with the result. We were solid and kept things tight, which was important. We didn't play our usual game and I think we controlled it for 60 minutes. Our aim was to make the Karlsruhe defenders find solutions. We wanted to break quickly from a solid defence, but our final ball lacked precision. I think we were slightly lucky to take the lead, but we didn't hold onto it for long. Karlsruhe would have had to go for broke if the equaliser hadn't come so quickly and we would have had more space into which to break. They hadn't had any real chances until then but all of a sudden, within a couple of minutes, the ball was in our net. That made it 1-1 and there was still some time to go. Karlsruhe put us under pressure and tried to mount a threat with high balls into our box, which was the case two or three times. They never gave up and went in search of a second goal. We could have won it ourselves through Flum, but I'm not displeased. I would have liked to win, but when you look at how the game went, then maybe we had a bit more luck. KSC should have taken the lead with the penalty, of course. In the end I'm glad we didn't lose today. We now have to focus on the next game and go for three points again."

KSC head coach Christian Eichner: "You could see the pressure surrounding the game from the outset. St. Pauli let us play and focused on keeping things tight at the back to make sure the position in the table was at least the same as it was going into the game. We struggled to make the right decisions and had to play balls into situations that aren't our strong points. What we lacked on occasions in the first half was the physicality. St. Pauli had more bite and were ready for the second balls. We weren't. We talked about it at half-time to make sure everyone understood. After the restart St. Pauli made us the offer with the penalty. In football you have to be brutal in those situations. And then, as so often this season, the moment we give our opponents the slightest opportunity, they are clinical. What has made us stand out since the restart after the lockdown, however, is that we never give up. I'm glad we got the equaliser so quickly. Only then did we get into the situations we're good at: knocking balls into the box from midfield and capitalising on our physicality in the centre of attack. Unfortunately, we didn't invest enough in the tackle and the second balls today to make sure the game swung our way. In that respect, we have to be satisfied with the draw."

Robin Himmelmann: "We didn't start well after the break. We gave the penalty away but still it stayed 0-0. We then got the goal, only to concede the equaliser almost immediately. If we'd played with a little more intelligence and kept the clean sheet a bit longer, ideally to the end, I think we would have had more space in which to get a second. As it was, they were level again right away and we undid all our hard work with a brief lapse of concentration. It's still an important point, though, because we kept KSC at bay. Nothing could have been worse than a defeat here, as Karlsruhe would have been just two points behind us then. We still have the same cushion as we had before the game. The good thing about it is that we have it in our own hands and don't need to keep looking at what the other teams are doing. We had the odd opportunity but never saw it through."

Sebastian Ohlsson: "It was tough going today and our third game in eight days. It was very hot and there was little pace in the game. All in all, it went back and forth a lot for us, with lots of long balls on both sides. Maybe we could have been a bit more aggressive for their goal. They got the better of the situation after the cross and the ball went in. I don't know if it was offside or not."

Photos: Witters