FC St. Pauli

Head coach Fabian Hürzeler: “We began really well and were unbelievably dominant with lots of control. We created chances. Until they scored, we’d pressed the ball really well. The goal came a somewhat out of the blue. We lost our way after that and weren’t as clear on the ball. We knew Schalke would come out with a different body language in the second half. The goal came at a good time for us and gave us momentum. We had the game under control but were fortunate on two occasions when we lacked our defensive stability. That said, I think we responded well. We continued to play good football and could have got the third goal earlier than we did. I’m delighted that Carlo got his reward. It definitely could have gone the other way if we hadn’t survived Schalke’s spell of pressure but all in all I’m pleased with the performance.”

Marcel Hartel: “We deserved to win. We didn’t let Schalke get going, especially in the first half, apart from the one misunderstanding at the back that with the quality they have resulted in the goal. But we dominated before that and continued to dominate afterwards, though we lost that a bit after we took the lead in the second half. I see room for improvement there. Nevertheless, we definitely deserved it. We defended solidly as a team. I’m also delighted for Carlo after having to wait so long for his chance. Last week’s win obviously gave us confidence and we able to build on that against strong opposition today.”

Eric Smith: “We wanted it more today and got the goals at the right time. We dominated the first half and created lots of good chances. Their goal can happen, we had a communication problem. Cello was outstanding, I’m delighted for him. It was a tough game but they’re exactly the kind we want. Being above HSV is a good feeling, but we’ve only played seven matches, so there’s still a long way to go. We haven’t achieved anything yet but we’re on the right track. We’ll keep working hard to ensure we’re a very difficult team to beat.”

Carlo Boukhalfa: “I’ve come through a difficult phase. I haven’t played much and had to wait a long time to get back on the pitch. You have to keep your belief and have people around you who encourage you and then anything’s possible in football. Things can go quickly. I’m overjoyed to have played again and scored. I didn’t think too much beforehand, I just shot instinctively. I’m delighted with the goal but what counts more is the win.”

Thomas Reis (Schalke coach): “Congratulations to St. Pauli on a not undeserved win. We wanted to be active in defence, which we didn’t manage to do in the first phase of the game. After the triple chance St. Pauli took a deserved lead from the spot. We were more active after that and tried to disrupt St. Pauli’s build-up play and win the ball. We got the equaliser and came out after the break with good energy. We had good presence and then conceded out of the blue. It was well worked, but we defended far too passively. After that we had two huge chances. St. Pauli deserved to win, but we had phases where we could have got the equaliser but failed to do so.”

Photos: Witters