FC St. Pauli

Head coach Fabian Hürzeler: "We gave a good performance away from home in terms of our general play and positioning, but the mistakes in our build-up play in the first half invited our opponents to come at us and got the home crowd going. It got louder and louder. We had good structure on the ball, but the issue today was that we made too many simple mistakes, be it in our defensive touches, our closing down, our pressing or in the 50-50 balls, which we weren't able to win. You can't win a derby here like that. Both teams could have gone in front in the first half. HSV may have had the odd chance more than us, but the best one fell to Aljoscha Kemlein just before the break when he was denied first by the keeper and then by the post. It was a extremely even game in the second half that HSV won from a set piece, which ultimately wasn't undeserved because we didn't perform to our maximum potential. We're disappointed and will analyse why we were so faint-hearted at times. The issue today was our play on the ball, not off it."

Jackson Irvine: "It was a wild encounter with chances at both ends in the first half. Unfortunately we didn't take our chances. Instead, we gradually lost control. We lost too many 50-50 balls and conceded from a set piece. Our hallmark all season has been giving little away and not conceding many from set plays, but it was too easy today. We have to put it behind us quickly now and play with more control again. We know it was important game, not just for the fans, so we're very disappointed, but we're looking ahead to the next one now."

Marcel Hartel: "We didn't get into the game well and HSV won nearly all the second balls. We defended well and didn't allow them any clear-cut chances, but we never really got going. We need to analyse the performance and make sure we do better at home against Osnabrück. Our passing and first touch wasn't good enough today. I'm not blaming Niko for the goal. He took a decision and I back him fully. It hurts to be without Manos in the next game through suspension. He's a key factor."

Nikola Vasilj: "I came out for the corner because I saw the ball was heading for the far post. I was obstructed slightly and didn't get to the ball, which us obviously very disappointing for me and the team. It could have gone either way. We fought hard and gave as good we got. To lose the game from a corner is so annoying."

Oladapo Afolayan: "HSV tried to stir things up from the outset. If that's their approach, it tells me how good we actually are. You can take positives from a defeat as well. We can hear the home team celebrating outside, and let them enjoy the moment. We have bigger things to concentrate on. This defeat won't shape our season. Theirs maybe, but not ours.“

Steffen Baumgart (HSV head coach): "We're delighted with the win. Our play off the ball was very good. A lot of what we tried came off. The goal in the first half should have been given in my view and we hit the post as well, though all in all it was an even game that both teams tried to win. We were worth the win in the end because the lads did well. We did what we set out to do and built on what we did well last week."

Photos: FC St. Pauli/Witters