FC St. Pauli

Head coach Alexander Blessin: “We did a lot of things right in the first half – both on and off the ball. The height of the defensive line was good and we were aggressive in the challenge. We exploited the half spaces well when we had the ball, but we lacked clarity in the final third. With the sun as low as it was, we could have gone for goal more often because it could have been dangerous. In the second half we did suffer a bit. We failed to defend on the right line. Bremen have quality and made good use of the spaces. We had a few problems when they ran at our backline with pace but we survived. It’s debatable whether we should have had a penalty. They could have had another look at it. At the end of the day we can be pleased with a good first half and a below-par second. The point could be worth its weight in gold in the end.”

Eric Smith: “We invested a lot in the first half and got into some good positions but we couldn’t finish off the attacks. We’ve made progress as the season as unfolded and today we again had a keeper who ensured we didn’t lose. They had some good chances and we had a bit of luck a couple of times but you have to earn your luck. Bremen can still qualify for the Champions League and we want to stay up, so a point away from home won’t do us any harm.”

Carlo Boukhalfa: “The performance in the first half was good, but Bremen were better in the second. They exploited the spaces well. The quality of the opposition shows when you tire a bit but we defended well, so a goalless draw is a fair result. The teams below us are picking up points, as we saw this weekend, so our work isn’t done and we can’t afford to let up. Against Stuttgart we’ll go flat out again to get closer to our target.”

Ole Werner (Werder Bremen head coach): “When one coach is more satisfied with one half and less with the other, then it’s the opposite way round for the other coach. We didn’t run at them or push up well enough in the first half. Our timing and levels of aggression weren’t as good as they need to be against St. Pauli. We didn’t get into the game and had no answers on the ball. We made some adjustments before half-time, but we didn’t really get things right until the second half. I’m largely satisfied with the performance after the interval because we didn’t have many defensive problems. We didn’t have many chances but that was to be expected against St. Pauli. We got into the situations we wanted to get into from the off. If a team don’t give you many opportunities, you have to take one of them if you want to leave the field victorious. In a game low on chances we had the better opportunities but unfortunately we didn’t take them. We’ll take the point. Who knows what it'll be good for in the end.”

Photos: FC St. Pauli/Witters