"EVERYTHING'S SO MUCH FUN" – THE MATCH REACTION
Saturday, 22. December 2018, 18:22 Uhr
The mood in the mixed zone after the 4-1 defeat of FC Magdeburg was extremely upbeat, of course. We took note of what the players had to say.
Dimitrios Diamantakos: "I'm happy to have helped the team win the game and celebrate a superb end to the year with my goals. We didn't start well and only really got going from the 46th minute. Bernd knows I'm quick from training and he released me really well for the third. We do that a lot in training and though it wasn't easy thankfully I was able to put it away."
Jan-Philipp Kalla: "Today we managed to score more goals than our opponents once again. It wasn't always pretty, and we had a few problems, especially in the first half. We started the second half better and deserved to win in the end."
Mats Møller-Dæhli: "We lacked mentality and passion in the first half. We didn't have any control. We made a tactical switch during the break, which worked well. I'm pleased we can now go into the winter break in third or fourth place. Next year the motto will be 'keep going'!"
Marvin Knoll: "It may have been the final game of the year but it was also the first game of the second part of the season, so it was especially important to take all three points. We now go into the winter break with an average of almost two points a game; that's pretty impressive. Respect to the referee as well at this point. It isn't self-explanatory that he's going to get a difficult situation right and take back what would have been a Magdeburg equaliser. My Christmas wish for St. Pauli is that we continue to play with the same passion. The lads, the team, the atmosphere in the ground – everything's so much fun. If things carry on like this, I'll love this job even more."
Bernd Nehrig: "To sign off into the winter break with a performance and a result like that is superb. It was exactly what we wanted – another proper party with the fans. Nevertheless, I have to say that the first half of the season hasn't been satisfactory for me, as I haven't played as much as I should. I was injured and out of the team and the lads were very successful in that time, which gave the coach no reason to change things. I have to analyse that and make a decision and that's what I did when I expressed the wish to leave the club. Whether it will come to that you don't know because the club and other people also have a say."
Ersin Zehir: "In the second half we did better, created the chances, got the goals and deserved to win. All in all, it was an excellent team performance. We worked hard, battled and got into the tackles. It was a good way to sign off into the new year."
Philipp Ziereis: "Magdeburg played well in the first half. We defended well overall even though we gave them a few chances. Nevertheless, you have to say we played better and countered well after the break because of the change. That's been a quality of ours this season. Looking ahead we have to work on our dominance to make sure we allow our opponents even less space."
Marius Bülter (FC Magdeburg): "I don't know what the reason is week in, week out. At half-time we set out to carry on playing the way we did in the first 45 minutes. It was tough after the penalty. We now have ten days to switch off and gather the strength we need to go again, hold our own for the full 90 minutes and pick up points."
Rico Preissinger (FC Magdeburg): "We had some big chances in the first half, so we really should have gone in at half-time in the lead. Then the penalty comes and we're unlucky to be 2-1 down. Even so, we shouldn't give the game up like that. We'll keep going, though. We're professionals and it's our job to pick ourselves up after every defeat and get on with it."
Photo: Witters