Trapp and Hardung confident of UECL berth despite draw
After drawing the first leg of their 2023/24 UEFA Europa League Conference league fixture in the Bulgarian capital last night, Eintracht Frankfurt keeper Kevin Trapp and newly installed sporting director Timmo Hardung offered up their assessments to the RTL+ microphones.
A raucous home crowd in the Bulgarian capital cheered their side on until, eventually, they scored a late equalizer. Not long after conceding the 1-1 in the fifth minute of second half injury time, SGE keeper Kevin Trapp conceded that the German team hadn't furnished their best match when speaking to Germany's RTL+ for his post-match interview.
"We have only ourselves to blame because we didn't do enough in the second half, especially going forward," Trapp told his interviewer, "If one wants to be honest about, Levski put more into the game. We got off to a great start, but didn't finish our chances on the side where we got a few."
Timo Hardung - the newly installed SGE sporting director serving under Markus Krösche - had the responsibility of speaking to the German broadcaster. The 33-year-old administrator too rued some of his team's missed chances. Hardung made sure to praise the performance of the evening's opponents.
"We have to accept the fact that we didn't completely hold our own," Hardung said, "We wanted to attack via the flanks, but didn't manage that at all. They caused us lots of problems. They showed great focus and there was also the power from the fans and players here in the stadium. That was potent."
Trapp and Hardung specifically thanked 1,500 SGE fans for making the trip to Bulgaria for the first leg and expressed confidence that, at home in the RheinMain metropolis next week, their own home-town crowd would carry them through.
"Our quality should prevail," Hardung said.
"We want to get into the Conference League," Trapp added, "and that will only enhance the atmosphere [at Deutsche Bank Park]."