“Both teams will be satisfied with a point”

Mainz 05’s players spoke about the disappointing feeling of conceding a late equaliser in their dramatic 2-2 draw in Gladbach, but acknowledged that it was a fair result. Sporting director Martin Schmidt noted that both sides will be happy with a point after a topsy-turvy match. Brajan Gruda’s wonder goal cancelled out Florian Neuhaus’ opener. Aymen Barkok then put the Zerofivers 2-1 up, before Joseph Scally’s late strike ensured that the spoils were shared.”

The 05ers’ reaction following #BMGM05

Sporting director Martin Schmidt: “It was a shame that we couldn’t see out the victory, just like against Frankfurt. When you look at the game as a whole, 2-2 is a fitting scoreline and both teams will be satisfied with a point. Conceding three or so minutes before the final whistle is still tough to take, as we’d have loved to come away with a win, especially given the tricky start to the game. Brajan Gruda’s amazing strike levelled things up and energised the team. We started the second half very well. We controlled the flow of the game and kept things in Gladbach’s half. After Aymen Barkok put us into the lead, we just didn’t keep things tight enough at the back, despite some unbelievable saves from Robin Zentner.”

Head coach Bo Svensson: “It was an intense affair. Gladbach were clearly better in the first half. We found it hard to assert ourselves and were too passive when defending crosses. It was all a bit lax in the middle for the first goal and we deserved to go behind. We levelled things up thanks to a wonder goal and deserved to go into the break all-square. We were noticeably better in the second 45. We had a couple of good chances and looked like we had more control. Gladbach hardly had a sniff until we went 2-1 up. After the goal, we were too passive and were fortunate that our keeper kept us in the game. I don’t think we can have any complaints about coming away with a point, even though a win, however undeserved, would have been fantastic for.” 

Stefan Bell: “The late equaliser is obviously tough to take, but if we’re being honest and view the game as a whole, we’ll take the point. I think our reaction to going behind was very impressive, as we equalised almost immediately. We played better after that and the game was more open. We played some ambitious football and beat the Gladbach press well at times. We also looked fairly confident on the ball.”

Brajan Gruda: “We’ve practised that during shooting drills in training, but it’s always gone wrong. I either haven’t connected with the ball properly or it’s not gone on target. In the game, it all worked out suddenly – I didn’t give it a lot of thought, I just shot and it went in. I didn’t know how to react. There were even some tears of joy – it was indescribable. We grew in belief after the goal – we could have taken all three points today with the chances we had in the second half.”