Manuel Baum: “The three points are the priority”

Augsburg rode their luck against Heidenheim, surviving a flurry of missed chances from their wasteful opponents before eventually snatching all three points thanks to an Alexis Claude-Maurice penalty ten minutes from time.

Despite the less-than-convincing display, head coach Manuel Baum was simply relieved to secure the result:

“I’m absolutely delighted we managed to keep the three points here. I don’t care about how in this moment – the three points are the priority.” 

He also praised his side’s resilience and patience during sustained spells of pressure:

“It was an even first half, then before the penalty we had to do a lot of defending, and Heidenheim had plenty of shots. We had to get through that spell, and the penalty was a real release for us. We could even have scored more with the counter-attacks we had. Patience, concentration and focus were key today.”

Match winner Claude-Maurice echoed the sense of relief but acknowledged there is room for improvement:

“The most important thing is that we won, although our performance wasn’t good – we can do much better. The win gives us a bit of breathing space in the table. We’ll focus on the game in Wolfsburg and we want to take three points there as well.”

The victory lifts Augsburg up to 11th place, now six points clear of the bottom three. Attention quickly turns to another significant test, with a trip to Wolfsburg on the horizon next weekend.