Werner and Füllkrug discuss defensive woes after cup loss
After having had the dubious honor of being the first top-tier side eliminated from Germany's domestic cup competition, SV Werder Bremen striker Niclas Füllkrug, midfielder Jens Stage, and head-coach Ole Werner have discussed their club's inauspicious beginning to their second season back in the German top-flight.
An 11th-minute red card for defender Amos Pieper meant that SV Werder Bremen had to play the vast majority opening DFB Pokal fixture against third-tier side FC Viktoria Köln shorthanded. Despite this, the Hanseaten were twice able to take the lead through goals from their star striking tandem of Marvin Ducksch and Niclas Füllkrug.
The visiting Kölner nevertheless won the match with two late goals. Speaking to various German press sources after the defeat, neither Füllkrug nor head-coach Ole Werner were in much of a mood to blame Pieper for the loss. Werner acknowledged that Pieper's early emergency stop hadn't helped, but noted that he was very concerned about his squad's ability to defend.
"We defended very, very badly," Werner told the Sky mics afterwards, "Of course it plays a role that you are outnumbered, but still we must not concede these three goals in such a fashion way."
"It wasn't clever [from Amos]," Füllkrug told his interviewer, "but it's not all that bad. Our problem is that we lived up to our reputation and defended poorly."
"You can't be so shy when contesting the duels and have to be more forceful," the striker continued, "You have question whether its the type of players, the total attitude, or perhaps some offensive players who aren't working at the back."
Werner agreed.
"There will be others that can come in and help us," the trainer added, "but it's still of course a problem that we defend too poorly. Today it's time for some deep personal introspection. A new competition begins next week."
"I still don't have words for the game," SV starter Jens Stage told the club's own media outlet afterwards, "The support was there, everyone was ready, but the performance was poor."