"We picked up a deserved point"

Sinsheim- Hertha collected their first points on the road in 2017/18 thanks to a 1-1 draw with Hoffenheim on Sunday afternoon.

Pál Dárdai: We came here with the goal of taking something. That’s not always been the case here. We wanted to stand firm in midfield and press high. We wanted to try and cause them problems with our possession. We tried to avoid conceding from set pieces but that’s exactly what happened. From then on though we stayed calm and kept our structure. We started more aggressive in the second half and scored a lovely goal. We showed a good away performance and picked up a point deservedly. I spoke to the players I was going to leave out personally. These are tough decisions to make but we need to rotate this season. The players know this and can expect more changes against Leverkusen.

Alexander Esswein: I think we all dug in deep and tried to stay firm and set out our base. They play very good football, but we protected well against that and earned the draw. I got a bit more of my shoulder on the ball than I wanted but it counts as a header for me! Everything came off perfectly. The ball was terrific from Marvin and I was able to get between the defence. If we can get something out from both matches in a two game week then it would be great. It’s Leverkusen on Wednesday and we want all three points again.

Marvin Plattenhardt: We are delighted to get a point. We shouldn’t have given away the first goal but we were too passive at the corner. But apart from that we played well. We were firm at the back and looked good going forward. I am so pleased Essi got his goal. The boys who came back in today were superb. The whole squad showed a willingness to play well and you need that to get results.

Mathew Leckie: Both teams were a bit tire, but we showed a lot of charcter, particularly in the second half. We played well, didn’t give away a lot of chances and deserved this point. There wasn’t a lot of action after the second goal went in. It does not matter who scored it is the results that are more important. We didn’t want to lose so we can be very happy. It will be hard against Leverkusen, because they play good football but we will tough to beat if leave everything out there on Wednesday. We need to recover properly and then prepare accordingly.