"Battled hard" for success

Another spirited team performance led the Green-Whites to three points against Leverkusen (photo: nph)
First Team
Sunday, 08.02.2015 / 21:15

It was hugs all round after the final whistle. Garcia and Sternberg, Skripnik and Frings, Kroos and Bartels. The joy after beating Leverkusen 2-1 and moving up into eighth...

It was hugs all round after the final whistle. Garcia and Sternberg, Skripnik and Frings, Kroos and Bartels. The joy after beating Leverkusen 2-1 and moving up into eighth was written all over the Green-Whites' faces. For the first time in five years, Werder have now won four Bundesliga games in a row. "It's an amazing feeling. It was an incredible team performance today," said a delighted Zlatko Junuzovic, whose goal to make it 2-0 proved to be decisive.

"You can see that the confidence is back after the wins," explained Felix Kroos. The players and staff want to now look forward. "We're happy with the wins but obviously we want to continue our good run. We haven't achieved our aim yet and we're going to stay realistic," said manager Viktor Skripnik.

WERDER.DE got all the match reaction after the final whistle.

Thoughts on the game:

Jannik Vestergaard and Bremen fought for every inch (photo:nph)

Clemens Fritz: "We showed our quality in the first half. Leverkusen put us under pressure in the second half and forced us back but we stood firm."

Zlatko Junuzovic: "We were incredibly willing. We spoke about that ahead of the game and during the winter break. Leverkusen were dangerous down the flanks but we won thanks to our strength of character."

Fin Bartels: "We're very happy with the win. We wanted to bring our good run, confidence and fluency to our game into today's game. We played very well in the first half. It was a struggle in the second half but you have to win games like that sometimes."

Felix Kroos: "We're very happy with the three points. We can be proud of our performance and the fact that we had a very good first half because we all had to dig in. I'm hoping for more of the same next week."

Davie Selke: "It's a very nice feeling to have won the game. It was hard work against a very good opposition but we put in a quality team performance. We can be especially proud of ourselves. The result is down to confidence from the last game. We showed that we can take something from every game if we give our all."

Jannik Vestergaard: "I saw a team that wants to get out of the bottom half of the table. The passion and the will to win from the whole team was unbelievable. It makes me proud to be part of this team."

Thomas Eichin: "We've always had faith in this team. In the first half of the season we had some good games but we couldn't get the right results. Now we have an unbelievable desire to battle. Everyone fights for each other. You can see that the team and the staff are one unit and everyone is trying to be successful in every game."

Thoughts on the current position in the table:

Janek Sternberg, Santiago Garcia and Jannik Vestergaard celebrate after the final whistle (photo: nph)

Zlatko Junuzovic: "Now it shows just how important that win against Dortmund before Christmas was. We took that momentum into the winter break and then into the Hertha match. We're seeing the benefits now. We were already a close-knit group at the start of the season and really wanted to win, but we just weren't having the success. You can see from out body language and our demeanour that we're full of confidence. Having four straight wins behind us gives us courage and strength for the tough games ahead."

Thomas Eichin: "Obviously it's great to be eighth, but we won't go overboard and will make sure that everyone comes back down to earth over the next couple of days."

Viktor Skripnik: "Our position in the table looks very good. It's great for now, but we want to keep improving and proving that we're a good Bundesliga side week in, week out. Of course a win against a top team like Leverkusen gives you confidence for the future, but we will continue to look over our shoulders and not at those places above us. We want to keep developing and we will work meticulously to make sure that happens."

Felix Kroos: "Sitting eighth is a brief moment to enjoy. We still need a lot of points in order to achieve our goals."

Davie Selke: "It's great to be on a run like this, but we will continue to work with focus so that we can carry on this streak."

Thoughts on the opening goal:

Felix Kroos and Philipp Bargfrede are good friends off the pitch and work hard on it together (photo: nph)

Philipp Bargfrede: "The first goal was awesome. We just kept moving the ball around and then Davie tucked it away brilliantly."

Jannik Vestergaard: "I was on a high after that. The way Davie took it was phenomenal. It's not easy to put a high cross like that away first time."

Felix Kroos: "We work on the technical side of things every day in training. Unfortunately, we're not able to do that over 90 minutes, but it worked really well at that moment."

Viktor Skripnik: "That goal really was class. We made three or four first-time passes and then the volley to finish it off. It was a superb goal."

Davie Selke: "It was fantastic interplay between Clemens, Felix, Juno and Fin. The cross from Fin was pinpoint and I just caught it sweetly."

Thoughts on the upcoming games:

Clemens Fritz: "There are a lot of difficult matches ahead for us, particularly in March - that will be a really tough period. The fans can dream, but we're staying grounded."

Zlatko Junuzovic: "We can enjoy this win for two or three days but then 100 percent of our focus has to be Augsburg. They're in great form and it will be a tricky match. Despite our recent run, things will still remain tight for quite some time. The league is incredibly even. We can't afford to start feeling like we're safe."

Philipp Bargfrede: "We know where we've come from and what's ahead of us. It's not difficult to keep your feet on the ground. We lost the ball too quickly at times today and hardly had a chance to breathe, despite us sitting deep. There are plenty of things for us to work on."

Jannik Vestergaard: "It's always difficult to play Augsburg. They're always set up well and can hurt a lot of teams. But we will definitely go into the game well prepared and hopefully we can leave the pitch as winners again."

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