Michael Boris:

“Congratulations to Cologne for qualifying. While waiting for my turn at the press conference, I had time to think. I thought it would have been much easier if Cologne had beaten us in the two games, but that wasn't the case. I'm bitter that we conceded from set pieces - we attacked with everything on the table when we let in the third, I wouldn't count that here. The game would have been interesting if Schwabe hadn't made such a save and we had managed to score at least one goal. Cologne have outplayed us in possession, they are a very strong team and we have experienced that. We can learn from every international match, we will try to carry this tempo over to the NB I, where we will have the ball more. I am sad but also proud of the team for the performance.”

Steffen Baumgart:

“I think everyone saw what we wanted to play, I'm happy that things went according to plan and we got through to the group stage. The decisive factor was that we managed to turn the match around with two excellent set pieces. Hübers's header was beautiful, and Skhiri's second goal was also good. We played well, created a lot of chances and tried to break down the home defence on the wing, but it didn't always work. Between the 55th and 70th minutes we were a bit tired, we had to make a substitution and managed to break the rhythm of the opponent. Schwabe also made 3-4 great saves, Vidi scored two sensational goals in Cologne, but today we managed to stop them. All I can say about my sending off is that I didn't agree with the way the throw-in was judged, I was loud, I got a yellow and then a red. I have to get used to the fact that what is acceptable in the Bundesliga is not acceptable in international matches. Anyway, I enjoyed the match, I hope to have many more like it.”