Sippel: “We have to get it out of our minds quickly”

In an interview with Tobias Sippel following Tuesday night’s DFB-Pokal exit at SV Darmstadt 98, the Borussia goalkeeper discusses being thrown in after Yann Sommer’s injury and looks ahead to the Bundesliga home match against Eintracht Frankfurt on Sunday.

Tobi, the team once again had high expectations for the DFB-Pokal this season. How painful is it to exit at the second-round stage already?

Sippel: It’s a very bitter pill to swallow. The cup is a massive opportunity, and we’ve blown it. We expected more of ourselves and knew what we’d be up against. We struggled to deal with them from the off though, then came the injuries to Yann Sommer and Jonas Hofmann too. That shouldn’t be an excuse, however. It just simply wasn’t enough from us.

What do you believe were the reasons behind the defeat?

Sippel: There’s a reason Darmstadt are top of the second division – they play brilliant football and are very strong going forward. They have a good mix of physicality, pace and technical ability in attack. We knew that going into the game, but we just weren’t able to defend it.

How difficult was it for you bring thrown in at the deep end after 13 minutes in such a high-intensity cup match?

Sippel: Ultimately, it’s my job to be prepared for that situation. You obviously feel a lot of tension and everything goes very quickly, particularly in such an intense period of the match in a cup tie against a side that are very fired up. I tried to do the best I could.

You were picking the ball out of the back of the net after just ten minutes. What went wrong for their first goal?

Sippel: We weren’t very well organised in the middle and that left two Darmstadt players completely free. We can’t allow that to happen, particularly in the cup where you know that one goal can potentially be the difference between going through or going out.

What did you make of the team’s reaction?

Sippel: We had a good period where we were enjoying more possession and worked the ball around well. Goals are what count at the end of the day though, and we didn’t score enough of them.

A mis-hit clearance from yourself led to their winning goal. What was your assessment of it?

Sippel: When the team needs you to step up, and then from the 25 long balls you play, one of them leads to the match-deciding goal, that hits you hard. I just caught too much of the ground with my kick, and then the ball landed perfectly for the opponent. It was just a very frustrating moment.

You need to flip the switch quickly now back into Bundesliga made, with a home game against Frankfurt up next on Saturday. What will that game come down to?

Sippel: We need to get the cup match out of our minds as quickly as possible. The Bundesliga is now our top priority. We want to keep up with the top sides and solidify our position in the table, if not make ground on those above us.

Our home form has been good, with only the Mainz game ending in defeat. What do you think the reason is behind why we’ve been so much more successful at BORUSSIA-PARK?

Sippel: Well, at home we have the incredibly energy of our fans behind us. If you win at home, you always want to follow those three points up with a result away. However, we’re in a situation where we have to think game by game, so the focus is solely on the home match against Frankfurt. We want to pick up as many points as possible.

Eintracht currently sit fifth in the table. What are their strengths?

Sippel: They have a lot of individual quality, particularly in attack. They also have someone in their ranks we know very well in Djibril Sow. We don’t need to shy away from the challenge though – we’re at home and we want to take the initiative.

Yann Sommer will probably be out for some time. Are you ready to fill his gloves?

Sippel: We have to wait and see what the exact diagnosis is. I hope that he’s back as soon as possible, but until then, I will try to fill in for him as well as I can.