Uwe Koschinat feels Essen were undone by "exceptional quality" of Fürth

Despite suffering the heartbreak of failing to achieve promotion to the 2.Bundesliga tonight, Rot-Weiss Essen coach Uwe Koschinat was gracious in defeat against Greuther Fürth. 

“Congratulations [to Fürth] on staying in the second division. That's a matter of decency and respect. Unfortunately, we weren't able to come out on top in either match,” he said afterwards.

"I think we implemented our game plan well today. We had several good opportunities to take the lead. During that period, we had decent control of the game with very good spacing.

"But the game turned after 20 minutes and Fürth pushed us into our half. They were able to penetrate the penalty area from the wings; you saw the exceptional quality they possessed. 

“Consequently, we fell behind and wanted to adjust things at halftime so that we could really push for the equalizer. Going 2-0 down then became a heavy burden,” he added. 

In the face of the setback, Koschinat felt his side “showed incredible energy” to battle back into contention. He ultimately felt bad luck and Fürth's goalkeeper proved to be the difference.

"Our physical condition is outstanding. We were well-structured, we attacked, we thwarted many counter-attacks, and in my view, we struck a very good balance to get the equalizer. 

"Unfortunately, luck wasn't on our side. [Silas] Prüfrock certainly had an outstanding game, we scored a narrow offside goal, we really gave it our all. I think we can really hold our heads high.

“Even though it hurts incredibly now, because it's a year's work. On the other hand, we saw that we were able to represent Rot-Weiss Essen exceptionally well,” the 54-year-old said.