Blessin reacts to quarter-final defeat: “It’s a shame because there was more in it for us today”
| Alexander Blessin, head coach of FC St. Pauli | Photo by Sebastian Widmann/Getty Images |
It was a familiar story for St. Pauli, who once again fell short in front of goal and were ultimately punished by a ruthless Leverkusen side, who ran out 3-0 winners at the BayArena despite a competitive display at times from the visitors.
Blessin felt the tie could have taken a very different course had his side been more clinical during a strong first-half showing:
“It's a shame because we played really well in the first half and could have got more from it. We stopped ourselves a bit again. The opening goal came out of nowhere and we could have defended it better. We did a lot of things right but went in at half-time trailing.”
The 52-year-old also pointed to poor game management in decisive moments as a key factor in the defeat:
“How we concede goals is also a factor. We didn't deal with it very well. It's a shame because there was more in it for us today. We have to accept it and can concentrate on the Bundesliga now. We aim to do better against Stuttgart at the weekend.”
Defender Louis Oppie echoed his coach’s sentiments, underlining the need for St. Pauli to be sharper in the final third:
"We didn't claim our reward in the first half. We should have made better use of the turnovers we had. Leverkusen were clinical in front of goal and that made the difference. Unfortunately, that’s been a recurring theme recently and we need to put it right quickly. If we do, things can change quickly. No matter what situation you're in, you must never lose faith. Everything can change quickly with one successful moment."
St. Pauli are now without a win in seven matches across all competitions and will quickly turn their focus back to league matters, with Stuttgart visiting the Millerntor-Stadion this weekend as the Hamburg-based side look to regain momentum in their fight for Bundesliga survival.
