“That’s what we need to do as a team”

The players and staff were in great spirits after the 3-1 win over Augsburg at the MEWA ARENA on Saturday afternoon. Svensson’s side put in a great performance across the 90 minutes and took their chances when they came. Here’s what Barreiro, Schmidt and Onisiwo had to say after the game.

Reaction from the MEWA ARENA:

Leo Barreiro: “We executed the plan from start to finish. We started really well and created some good chances through some great moves. On top of that, we didn’t allow our opponents to do much and in my view we were the deserved winners. I am especially happy after the last few weeks. These three points were all the more important after the good performance over 90 minutes. Now we’ll see if we can perform like this next Sunday. That’s what we need to do as a team. With regards to the penalty, the ball popped up really quickly off the pitch and it was difficult to react. The rule isn’t ideal because I couldn’t do a lot else. I had a good chat with the referee about it and I got a good understanding of the situation and the rules.”

Martin Schmidt: “The team have had a full week to work on a clear plan. That’s what they needed and that’s what the coaching staff implemented. We pressed well as a unit and we created chances after winning the ball. You sensed that a little more of the ball when we made it 3-1 would have done us well, but it continued to go to and fro. It remained exciting and it was a typical Mainz home game. Two home wins in a row is a good thing.

Karim Onisiwo: “We wanted it more across the 90 minutes, we were more aggressive and we won the important duels. On top of that, we were clinical in front of goal, even if we could have done a little bit better with some of the chances we had at the end. Overall we did okay but we can’t get carried away. There are important games coming up and we need to continue to implement our plan. We need to press high from the start. If we are too cautious then we won’t get into the game.”