Nobody was particularly happy with the performance and the end result, but given the transitional phase the team is in, it would also be a stretch to say they were unhappy. Borussia Dortmund come away from Hannover with a point – and a sense that their defense is much more solid than it was last season. Indeed, compared to last year’s fixture at this ground, a calamitous 4-2 defeat, one could say that enormous progress has been made.
“It wasn’t easy getting our game going. It’s a shame to just get the one point. We’re not satisfied,” said Thomas Delaney. ”Sometimes you have to just tell yourselves: hey, it’s still a point,” he added. Maximilian Phillip had a similar view of things: ”We could have come away with more, we had our chances. Going home with just a point is hard to take. Nonetheless, you always have to earn that point away at Hannover.”
This was also the opinion of head coach Lucien Favre, who had a somewhat critical perspective on the performance. ”Nil-nil is ok, nil-nil is fair,” said Favre regarding the match, the opposition (”They were very well organised”) and the result: ”We had a hard time in the first 25 minutes. It was extremely difficult for us. Then things improved. The second half was ok.”
Nonetheless, Favre went into more detail with his criticism of the performance: ”I can’t say that we had the better of the match. We still have a lot of work to do. When we win the ball, we have to keep a hold of it, we mustn’t rush things.” He also spoke of ”Ping-pong.” The trainer’s conclusion: ”We didn’t do well at controlling the ball. We need to have a lot more possession. It’s a question of movement, of tactical intelligence. We still have a lot of work to do.”
‘We kept a clean sheet, we had chances to score”
There has been much talk of this season representing a new beginning for the team, and after their third competitive match, the Black and Yellows were in a reflective mood. ”It wasn’t enough. We didn’t find any solutions, especially in our build-up play. Perhaps there wasn’t enough movement from us,” said Roman Bürki, who, unlike in the previous matches against Fürth and Leipzig, didn’t have to come to the team’s rescue with heroic saves. Favre also emphasised the ”positives.” ”We kept a clean sheet, we had chances to score.” Marco Reus and Maximilian Philipp both hit the woodwork, whilst Reus also had a golden opportunity, only to then be foiled by the opposition’s goalkeeper: ”I had the two biggest opportunities and I’m annoyed that I didn’t take them. I should’ve scored one of the two.”
In the end it finished 0-0, but it was by no means an uninspiring match. It was played at a high intensity throughout, with a lot of strong tackles across the pitch. The Black and Yellows fought with real determination – and that represents progress compared to last year.
