“We lost our way and we lost our threat”

We led, they leveled, we went behind in extra time, we leveled again and then we went to penalties. It was a thrilling evening of cup action in Braunschweig but it ended in our elimination. “Eliminated in the first game. That isn’t a nice feeling. In the first half we simply played well. But it wasn’t good to concede those goals in the way that we did. It happened too quickly and it was too easy. In the end we lost our way and lost our threat,” said Marvin Plattenhardt in the wake of the defeat. Here is the full reaction to our cup exit.

Marvin Plattenhardt: Eliminated in the first game. That isn’t a nice feeling. Of course we wanted to push on. In the first half we simply played well. We even had chances to extend our lead. But it wasn’t good to concede those goals in the way that we did. It happened too quickly and it was too easy. In the end we lost our way and we lost our threat. Although we missed that cutting edge, we fought our way back into the game. It came down to the little things. We need to pick ourselves up and get ready for the derby. The fans will give us direct encouragement for this game.

Prince Boateng: You get these games in the cup, when you can slip up despite leading 2-0 and despite playing really well in the first half. We weren’t rewarded for that and we should’ve been further ahead at the break. Against teams like Braunschweig, who will fight tooth and nail, these things can happen. We didn’t convert our clear-cut chances and we need to do just that or it will be difficult. It is frustrating because we successfully implemented some of the things that we have been working on in training but this shows that we need to continue working. We may be out, but we will push on!

Davie Selke: We had an excellent first half, created some good chances and scored some nice goals. We showed what we wanted to bring to the pitch.  In the second half we took our foot off the gas a bit and we were, in typical cup fashion, punished. After going behind in extra time we showed a good mentality and turned it round. That is important for our mentality. It went to penalties after the crazy 4-4 and then it’s all down to luck.