Trainer Armin Veh: "In the end, it was a deserved win for VfL Bochum. With the 0-1, we made life difficult for ourselves. That’s something which just shouldn’t happen! We actually played quite well after that but failed to create clear chances in the final third of the pitch. VfL were class on the break and they hit us on the counter exceptionally well at the beginning of the second half. The 2-0 shortly after the re-start was the breaking point for us. We had enough to find a way back but we were too hectic in our approach. We looked to alter things but we just weren’t clever enough – which is why we deserved to lose! That is not nice, but we must and will continue to work – in particular in being stronger mentally in such situations.”

Director of Sport Fredi Bobic: "Bochum were just far more determined today and we lacked that final punch in several situations. The 2-0 shortly after the re-start was a real blow for us. It was very difficult to find a way back into the game because Bochum stood very deep and we could find no way of breaking them down.“

Christian Gentner: "That was an extremely poor start – we had envisaged that as going very differently. We practically cost ourselves both goals that we conceded, which naturally played right into Bochum’s hands. We never managed to create any real pressure and we allowed them to catch us on the break all too often. The whole thing is of course a setback, but it’s also a chance for us to see early on just where we need to improve.”