Had the Wolves been forced to settle for a 2-2 draw at the WWK-Arena, the Green-Whites would still have been able to look back on an outstanding first half to the 2018/19 season. As it was, Sunday’s last-gasp 3-2 victory proved to be the perfect end to 2018 as Bruno Labbadia’s side head into the winter break in fifth place in the Bundesliga standings. The VfL head coach could not hide his pride after the final whistle…
Bruno Labbadia: “We were very, very good in the first half. We passed the ball well, prevented Augsburg from getting a grip on proceedings and kept forcing them into errors. We should have made it 3-0 before the break - that would have given us an unassailable lead. You have to compliment Augsburg for what happened after that. They threw everything forward and played with a lot of heart and passion. We were expecting that and should have got through that period unscathed, but unfortunately we conceded the two goals. That makes it all the more impressive that my players reacted so well to being pegged back. We dusted ourselves down, regained control and were all incredibly pleased when we made it 3-2 at the end. We now head into the winter break in very, very good spirits. The team deserves to be on 28 points.”
Manuel Baum: “I think we share similar views on today’s game. We were very, very poor in the first half. We weren’t strong enough in the tackle, deserved to be 2-0 down and were pleased not to concede a third. The manner in which my team came out for the second half was remarkable, but that makes it all the more disappointing to concede a third goal from a set-piece just before the end. Our aim for the second half of the season is clear: to put in this kind of aggressive performance for the whole 90 minutes. If we do that, we’ll start climbing the table again.”
