Schmidt: “We have a lot of hard work ahead of us”

After a contentious penalty decision, FC Augsburg have fallen to a last-gasp, heartbreaking 4-3 defeat in their final home match of the season. “A lot of things didn’t go as we had planned today,” said an unsatisfied FCA head coach Martin Schmidt following the defeat to Hertha BSC. Here is the post match reaction. Daniel Baier: “Somehow, it was a very peculiar match. Every time we took the lead, Hertha responded by upping their game. We turned the match back in our favour whenever Hertha equalised. However, we cannot concede three goals from corners. At the end, we were punished by a dubious penalty decision. I think a draw would’ve been a fair result for both teams.” Reece Oxford: “Unfortunately, such decisions are given in football. I also don’t understand why the referee awarded Hertha a penalty. The opponent collided with me and fell to the floor. Now, we must turn our attentions to next week to end the season in the best way possible.” Georg Teigl: “The door was somehow open at both ends of the pitch today for both teams to score. A 3-3 draw certainly would’ve been a fair result for both teams. I’m pleased that I was given the chance to start today as I’ve worked very hard to battle back to this point.” André Hahn: “Neither team really deserves to win a match like this. However, this was the way the match turned out today. The fans certainly enjoyed an exciting game. We were also satisfied with our performance until the 90th minute. Hertha were then awarded their penalty, which shouldn’t have been given in my opinion. Now, we have to both this late heartbreak behind us and focus on finding a positive end to the season in Wolfsburg next weekend.” Martin Schmidt: “A lot of things didn’t go as we had planned today. We didn’t play well in the challenges and lost the most important battles up and down the pitch. We know we have a lot of work ahead of us given that we conceded so many set pieces and conceded three goals from corner Hertha head coach Pál Dárdai: “Augsburg started the match as the stronger side. They were on the ball and we only woke up after going 1-0 down. I would’ve been happy with a 3-3 at the final whistle. The penalty we were awarded was also not a stonewall penalty. We will of course happily take all three points.”