“We need to decide games earlier”

After playing well and leading the game for a long time, Hertha are only able to take a point from the game against Bayer Leverkusen. There was a lot of disappointment in the Blue-White camp, as a last-minute equaliser saw the Europa League side grab a point. “It’s a shame, because we played very well against a really strong team. That’s football, though – it happens a lot and sometimes it’s painful,” said Stevan Jovetić, who scored a wonderful goal to give the home side the lead. herthabsc.com have collected all the reaction from the game at the Olympiastadion.

Stevan Jovetić: It doesn’t feel good at all. We wanted to win and I think we earned that win. We had chances on the counter to see the game out, but a goal can always come from a free kick. It’s a shame, because we played very well against a really strong team. That’s football, though – it happens a lot and sometimes it’s painful, but we just have to accept it.

Niklas Stark: It’s really annoying because we performed so well. It was important for us to put in a good game at home so we can climb the table. When you’re leading until the last minute and then concede an equaliser it’s so frustrating. We defended well and didn’t let much through at all. Their goal was so fortunate – the ball landed perfectly at Andrich’s feet even though there were two or three men right there. We had everyone back in the box and the only reason the ball lands on his foot is because we’re there. The same kind of thing might happen to us again in the season if we carry on like that. We can’t let our heads drop, even if it hurts after a game like this. We’re going to use this international break as well as possible – we have an important game coming up and we’re going to work hard to be as best prepared for it as we can.

Maximilian Mittelstädt: It’s extremely annoying. We were so close to taking the three points; it would’ve been a deserved victory. After taking the lead we missed a few chances and had a lot of counter attacking moments, but didn’t use them. To lose the game on a set piece is also really tough to take, but we need to take it on the chin. We’re very disappointed – I can’t describe how I feel at the moment. We need to make use of the international break to work on making our counter attacks work.