"The second half emphasises the progress we're making together"

Having been knocked back but then fought back into the game, falling to a narrow 3-2 defeat while still being loudly cheered by the Hertha fans at full time, the game in Leipzig was a strange night for the team as well as those supporting in blue and white. “The second half emphasises the progress we're making together,” said Marc Kempf. “We played well in the second half and unfortunately at the end we just didn’t get that bit of luck. We are putting in a lot of effort, are on it and definitely want to win this coming Sunday with our fans behind us!” herthabsc.com has all the reaction to the game in Leipzig.

Marc Kempf: The second half emphasises the progress we're making together. Everyone who saw the score would have been allowed to think at half time that we were out of the game, but we played well in the second half and unfortunately at the end we just didn’t get that bit of luck. The coach didn’t criticise us too much at half time but gave us confidence and pointed out the positives: our energy, our strength in duels. We set out not to lie down in the second half and we wanted to win the second have whatever happens – which we did. We are putting in a lot of effort, are on it and definitely want to win this coming Sunday with our fans behind us! The support was amazing; it felt like a home game playing here.

Dodi Lukébakio: I am really proud of my team. We said at half time that we had nothing to lose. We really gave everything and unfortunately it was not quite enough. However, this reaction in the second half, with this mentality, gives us a lot of hope going into the next game. We will give everything once again against Schalke to win the game. That game is very important for us. We have to work hard for it in training this week and do some things better on the pitch. In the first half, we gifted our opposition the goals. If we start the game next week how we finished the game here, then we will get our rewards.

Davie Selke: Looking at the second half here, we deserved at least a draw. The chances were there to get one. I had a shot, Willy hit the post. We started the game well but then conceded unlucky goals. So even more compliments to how we played in the second half. After the penalty and Jove’s goal [Stevan Jovetić], which he took brilliantly, the game was completely open. The fans supported us brilliantly and we wanted to send them home with at least a point. We are disappointed that that unfortunately didn’t come to pass.

Maximilian Mittelstädt: I am proud of the team, we fought hard and almost managed to get an equaliser. We were brave in the second half and didn’t give up. We attacked directly and created a lot of chances. It would have been a deserved point if we had got one – it is very frustrating that we didn’t. However, we can take the good performance from the second half with us.