“It will do us good” - #TSGBMG match reaction

We heard from the players and coaches after Borussia’s 1-1 draw with TSG Hoffenheim on Saturday afternoon.

Christoph Kramer: If we had won the last four games, I would be saying how badly we played. We failed to hold the ball up at all in the second half and that meant we lost possession so quickly that Hoffenheim didn’t even need to run – we need to work on that. I would almost say that the draw flatters us a little. It wasn’t about playing well today though, it was about getting a result and we did that. I’m generally someone who prefers to assess the performance; it wasn’t up to scratch, just like it hasn’t been in recent weeks, but at least we got a draw this time. It’s important to go into the winter break off the back of a small success – it will do us good. Now we need to use the short break to get a little distance from the situation. However, we’re well aware that we’ve got a lot of hard work ahead of us in the new year so that we can get back to playing the kind of football people are used to seeing from us.

Matthias Ginter: I think it’s a fair result all in all, but it’s obviously tough for us to take with the equaliser coming so late. Hoffenheim had more of the game and had the better chances, but we threw everything at it and defended with all we had once we took the lead. We had a bit of luck on our side in some moments. We pressed them high in the first half and won the ball back in some promising positions. Hoffenheim put us under a lot of pressure in the second half and we allowed ourselves to drop too much. We tried everything to keep them at bay and unfortunately we didn’t quite manage that until the very end.

Adi Hütter: Of course it would have been nice to win. The equaliser was unfortunate for us. Hoffenheim had more of the game, but I think we put in a battling performance today to try and hold onto the win. Sadly, it didn’t quite come off. I still feel like it was a step forward. It’s not easy when you’re coming off four straight defeats and you’ve had the confidence sapped out of you. We have been criticised for not fighting for every inch in recent weeks, but today we did just that, so I can live with a point. It’s not a bad result, particularly considering we were up against strong opposition. We didn’t play our best football today. The team have shown just how much quality they have in the past, but it’s about taking small steps and battling our way back to our best. A trip to Munich and then home matches against Leverkusen and Union aren’t the easiest of fixtures to come back to, but I’m convinced that the team has the quality to avoid having anything to do with the relegation battle. Nevertheless, we have to treat the situation for what it is; we’re by no means in safe territory.

Hoffenheim head coach Sebastian Hoeneß: We had a solid first 25 minutes and were really on top, but we were denied over and over by Yann Sommer. We were a little careless at times after that and also opened the door for Gladbach on a couple of occasions besides their goal. We were left chasing the game and it was one-way football after the hour mark. Yann Sommer had a great day today. If we had equalised sooner, I think we had the chance to go and get the win. We have to live with getting a late equaliser, so I’ve got mixed feelings.