“Of course, we shouldn’t let that happen”

Lots, if not everything, went against FSV on Saturday afternoon. In the end, Mainz lost 4-1 despite looking the better side for much of the opening stages. Two or three decisive moments, ultimately, tipped the scales in Hoffenheim’s favour, who, with it all said and done, deserved to take home the three points. Here is what the Mainz players had to say following the defeat.

Zerofivers’ post-match interviews

Martin Schmidt: The key moments came during our good opening stage when we failed to go into the lead despite our chances. We were clearly the better side at that stage and we just didn’t utilize it. Jonny’s injury and substitution brought a break to our passage of play, and we were solid right up until Hacki’s red card. Being a man down against Hoffenheim is always going to be tough. We wanted to hold it to 0-0 after the break and then hit them on the counter. They let us go for it and then caught us out with the first goal. Of course, we shouldn’t let that happen. Jonny has a flesh wound on his foot, which doesn’t look all that good.

Stefan Bell: Jonny played really well at the start of the game and had two good chances. It is difficult to say whether that switch killed our momentum. Most of all, it was going down to ten men that made it difficult. Few teams could have played any better than Hoffenheim did today. After the break, perhaps, we sat a little bit too deep, yet we still weren’t compact. When they went 1-0 up, then we were more attacking and had two chances on the counter. We weren’t clinical like we were in the first half. We did well when it was eleven against eleven, that’s why we can’t dwell on this result. The support from the stands was very emotional, especially after the game when we were cheered on. It’s a shame that we lost so convincingly. I don’t think today should throw us off track.

Dominik Kohr: At 3-1, there was a slimmer of hope. Being a man down never means that the game is over. We started really well and Jonny had two good chances that he has to take as a striker. That would have helped us. I think the challenge on him definitely warranted more than a yellow. But all in all, Hoffenheim definitely deserved to win. The sending-off was decisive. We will analyse the game tomorrow, put it behind us and then react positively against Hertha on Friday.