Interviews: “One step closer”

Thomas Reis (head coach VfL Bochum 1848): “We’re happy to take the point. Leverkusen are a great team, they have an incredible amount of pace in their ranks. We defended very, very well and allowed them very little. Of course, we were lucky with the penalty, which was an odd thing in itself. It was a very exciting and open game with a lot of pace. I thought the crowd were sensational today, there was support from the first to the last minute. The point was celebrated like a victory. We’re one step closer to our goal.

Gerardo Seoane (head coach Bayer 04 Leverkusen): The draw is fair. Both had few opportunities. That was because both teams managed to not let their opponents’ strengths come to the fore. A big compliment to the spectators. It was a great crowd with a very good atmosphere. We would have liked to take home more points, the penalty was bitter, of course. But the draw is absolutely fair. Bochum caused us a lot of problems with their fast players.

Simon Zoller: It feels very good to be back on the pitch. It’s been a long seven months and I’m very happy. The fans are behind you when you give everything for the club. I think I’ve done that over the last few years. I’m looking forward to attacking again and being back. I feel good. Of course, there’s still something missing, but that will come with time. We’ve come a bit closer to staying in the league again.

Sebastian Polter: It was a tough game for us. In the end, it’s always about points, and we earned the point today. We could have won, but that’s football. We came one point closer to our dream. Simon worked hard on his comeback. He deserved the effort after three weeks of training. The point is also for Simon. He is very important for us. We need him both on the pitch and in the dressing room. We have to keep fighting like this and then we’ll manage to stay in the division.

Maxim Leitsch: The point is definitely fair. We had good opportunities, especially in the second half. We broke through on the outside a few times, but unfortunately didn’t make enough of those chances. But we can be satisfied with the point. We haven’t managed to keep our place in the league yet, we still have a few games to go. But it looks good for us.