Dimitrios Grammozis: The first goal got us going | OneFootball

FC Schalke 04 were 2-0 winners away at Hansa Rostock on Saturday evening (25/9). Head coach Dimitrios Grammozis and his counterpart Jens Härtel both spoke to the media after the game, as well as the match winner Simon Terodde and Dominick Drexler.

I’m really satisfied with the result – it’s a great one. However, I wasn’t so pleased with the first half. We weren’t at our best, Hansa had more control of the game. Martin Fraisl saved us brilliantly in a 1v1 against Nik Omladic. Simon Terodde’s goal to make it 1-0 just before the break got us going. During half time, we agreed that we needed to step it up and fight harder, as well as try to control the game ourselves. We managed that a lot better in the second half.

Simon Terodde showed once again today that he’s a top-class striker. I have a lot of praise for the rest of the team too though. Memo Aydin could have shot himself for the second goal. I’d obviously like different goalscorers sometimes, although we’re not going to complain if Simon is always in the right place to get the goals. We made a decision to go with Martin Fraisl in goal – it wasn’t a decision against Ralf Fährmann. I think he did really well today and provided the team with some stability.

We played really well for 40 minutes, had the better chances and were well on top. We unfortunately didn’t get what we deserved from that period and they then effectively scored out of nowhere. They then punished our first mistake straight after the break. We gave it our all, but couldn’t get anything for a good performance at home. The penalty in the 73rd minute could have been given. On the other hand, we could have just scored before that instead. A goal then would have made the closing stages really interesting.

It was a hard-fought win. We weren’t playing well right before the break, and Rostock would have probably deserved to take the lead then. We were lucky to take a 1-0 lead into the break. Thomas Ouwejan’s assist was brilliant and Marius Bülter did well to play it through to him. As a striker, you’re always grateful for assists like that. We reacted well during half-time. Memo set me up brilliantly to make it 2-0. All I had to do was stick my foot out. It wasn’t easy for our opponents to defend that. I then nearly managed to score a third, as Thomas Ouwejan delivered another strong set piece.

It was a very intense game, and Hansa were the better side during the first half. We made some slight adjustments during half time, which worked out well. We were clinical on two occasions, both before and after the break. We were well-positioned at exactly the right moments. Simon Terodde is a phenomenon. As a defender, you cannot allow him even an inch of space, or else he will punish you instantly.