Frank Schmidt: “We were in control until the first goal”

Heidenheim suffered their eighth away defeat of the season when they fell into a 2-1 loss in Mainz. The result saw them drop into the bottom place for the first time since matchday 11.

“I think we were in control until the first goal,” said Frank Schmidt after the game. “Except for one long-distance shot, we didn't allow much, and we had chances through Mikkel Kaufmann and Benedikt Gimber.

“It's a shame that we can't take the chance to take the lead ourselves. We planned to go at it after the break, but we made the same mistake as we did against Köln (conceding early in the second half). After our goal, we almost played exclusively attacking football.”

Schmidt also summarized Heidenheim’s form in the Hinrunde as they now faced every team once. “The first round is now over. We are rightly ranked 18th. We ultimately won only a few games and made easy mistakes. It's not about character or the belief in our squad. We just have to reduce mistakes, and play a more offensive game so that we bring a lot more quality in taking our chances.”