Only in a penalty shoot-out did the Bundesliga third-placed team defeat the third-placed team. Freiburg coach Christian Streich spoke afterwards of luck and poise, paid opponents Osnabrück many compliments and raved about the special cup atmosphere.
For a long time it looked like a work victory. Vincenzo Grifo’s 1-0 escape from Osnabrück keeper Philipp Kühn before the break seemed to be enough to decide an intense cup fight in favour of the favourites, who were definitely shaky, especially in the second half. “The game was actually over, but then it went on for more than five minutes. A bit too long from my point of view. I didn’t quite understand it, but I don’t have to,” commented Freiburg coach Christian Streich on Lukas Gugganig’s equaliser, which only saved the home side going into extra time in the seventh minute of stoppage time after the refereeing team had indicated only five minutes extra time.
Streich hands out big compliments
Probably also feeling the tight progress in the penalty shoot-out, Streich did not want to talk more intensively about the 1:1, which was disputed at least in terms of time. Instead, after a satisfactory first half, the 56-year-old blamed the opponent’s performance for his team’s shortcomings after the break – and handed out big compliments.
Streich: “It was a great atmosphere “
“Osnabrück got stronger and stronger in the second half, driven by the great crowd. It was a great atmosphere. I totally enjoyed that,” said Streich at Bremer Brücke around midnight: “I was really looking forward to this game because I totally like this stadium.” And in this stadium, the difficulties for the surprise team of the current Bundesliga season increased after the change of ends, “because we were no longer ball-secure enough, lost a few duels and second balls,” the coach found.
Streich: “We are not losing our heads “
The underdogs, spurred on by the last-second equaliser, also had the advantage in extra time and consequently took the lead. “The 2:1 was an outstanding goal from Osnabrück, the substitutes from Osnabrück were also really good. We had difficulties there,” Streich analysed, only to highlight the positive with regard to his own last-minute equaliser by Keven Schlotterbeck to make it 2-2: “But we came back. It’s the third time this season that we’ve managed to come back from a deficit. That speaks volumes for the team. We now deal with arrears in such a way that we don’t lose our heads. You need luck, but also a certain attitude and structure. That’s what the boys displayed.” SC had previously come back from 0:1 down in the league against Cologne and most recently against Leipzig.
“I’m totally happy for Benni Uphoff “
But since nobody goes home after a draw in the cup, the decision had to come down to a contest from eleven metres. That’s when Freiburg had two key factors on their side. “In the end, we were the luckier ones,” Streich admitted and immediately praised his match-winner, who was making his season debut for the SC professionals: “I’m totally happy for Benni Uphoff, he did an amazing job deciding the game for us. It is a great joy because he is a totally good component in our team. Because he always works so hard, he’s always one of the last to go home, even though he doesn’t have the prospect of always playing. Now he’s saved three penalties. “
“It was pure football “
Whether the back-up to regular goalkeeper Mark Flekken has now secured his place in the starting eleven for the next cup tie? “I can’t say yet. I have to talk to my fellow coaches and Krone (goalkeeper coach Andreas Kronenberg, editor’s note) first – otherwise I’ll get in trouble,” said Streich. He went into more detail about the opponent: “My compliments to Osnabrück, they played a great game, it was pure football. I would also say that if we had lost. It was great, I think it’s great in the DFB Cup. I wish Daniel all the best because they have a great team, they played tactically very well, it was very difficult for us. “
Scherning: “It’s fun to watch your games “
The highly praised Daniel Scherning, in a melange of emotions ranging from disappointment over a “bitter result” and “pride in the performance of his players”, handed over a virtual bouquet of flowers to his colleague, who will soon be in charge at SC for ten years in a row: “Keep playing like this in the Bundesliga. It’s very good to watch, it’s fun to watch your games. “
