#M05BMG: Match reaction

After the Foals’ 1-1 draw in Mainz, we have the reactions of Florian Neuhaus, Nico Elvedi and Moritz Nicolas, as well as the two head coaches Gerardo Seoane and Bo Henriksen.

Florian Neuhaus: We weren’t happy at all with the first half. We couldn’t have performed much worse here. Mainz pressed well man to man, and we couldn’t find a way to counter that. We played a lot of long balls, but they came back at us like a boomerang. We discussed everything plainly at half time and made a few changes. We played much better in the second half and are taking home a point in the end.

Nico Elvedi: The first half was terrible. We were actually well-prepared for the game and knew that Mainz would be at full throttle from the start. But we didn’t seem to be prepared enough and put up too little resistance. We didn’t cope well with Mainz’s positional play. During half time, everyone knew that we’d have to give an extra 20 to 30 percent. We managed that. In the second period, we won far more individual battles and second balls. We can build on that.

Moritz Nicolas: We wanted to win the game, so disappointment is the prevailing emotion after the match. At the end of the day though, we can’t play like we did in the first half. We were missing everything: the strength in individual battles, the control of the game. We also conceded too many set pieces. The second half was a lot better than the first. We even had chances to win the game. Whether or not that would have been deserved after the first-half showing is a question for another day.

Head coach Gerardo Seoane: We were far too open defensively in the first half and carried too little threat ourselves. It was a disappointing performance until half time. We didn’t start the game that badly, but then quickly fell apart completely. A crucial reason for this was the host of Mainz set pieces. We didn’t manage to get out of that cycle, because we made too many mistakes in our own build-up play. Mainz also won far more of the individual battles. After the break, also because of the change of system, we went about things with a completely different energy and aggression. We did enough in the second half to at least take home a point.

Head coach Bo Henriksen (Mainz 05): I think we were the better team in the first half and created a lot of chances. We had a lot of possession, particularly in the final third, and carried out our game plan well. However, we maybe went into half time without enough goals to our name. We struggled a bit tactically in the second half. We couldn’t press as high as we wanted, and were losing the second balls. That created a lot of problems for us and that’s why the result at the end was what it was. But I’d rather concentrate on the things we did well.