“We’re incredibly disappointed” – #SVDBMG reaction

We gathered the thoughts from Luca Netz and the two head coaches after Borussia’s 2-1 defeat in the second round of the DFB-Pokal on Tuesday night.

Luca Netz: For our equaliser, I had joined the attack and it finally produced my first Borussia goal. I can’t get excited about that today though. Our goal was to reach the next round and, unfortunately, we weren’t able to make that happen. We slept through the opening 20 minutes; Darmstadt were more aggressive in the tackles. We need to be more consistent, be present from the very first minute and win challenges from the off. We got into the game more and created a number of chances, which led to the equaliser. The momentum was with Darmstadt after they made it 2-1 and gave it everything to see out the win. All in all, they deserved their win.

Daniel Farke: We’re incredibly disappointed. We really wanted to progress to the next round of the cup, and we haven’t managed it. Darmstadt were very aggressive in the first 20 minutes. We weren’t at the races and lost too many duels. As a result, Darmstadt controlled proceedings and deservedly went in front. I was very pleased with how the team reacted; they focused on the game plan and created a number of chances. After the break, we kept patient and got our equaliser, but after that there were five or six occasions where we missed the final pass. When you don’t take these opportunities to go in front, you have to be flawless in defence in order to win the game. Unfortunately, we didn’t manage that. Darmstadt capitalised on a mistake in our build-up play to make it 2-1, a goal which was ultimately decisive. We tried everything in the closing minutes, but our opponents defended passionately and held onto their lead. We have to accept this defeat.

Darmstadt head coach Torsten Lieberknecht: Today was football in its purest form. I had really wished we’d get through to the next round, and this evening it came true thanks to our amazing team. We didn’t let Gladbach get into the game, which is when they can cause problems. That was a key part of our win. We got a little lucky with Thuram’s penalty shout – the referee could certainly have given that. But on an evening like this, you need a little luck. I think we created the better chances overall and controlled the game for the most part. We were courageous in our play and pressed high. We wanted to give our fans something tonight, and we did.