Riera reacts to “difficult” draw with St. Pauli

Here’s the reaction from the Frankfurt camp following their stalemate with St. Pauli this afternoon.

Frankfurt were held to a 0-0 draw at the Millerntor-Stadion, with clear-cut chances few and far between for Albert Riera’s side.

Despite St. Pauli striking the post twice during the contest, Riera had plenty of praise for his team’s defensive performance.

“Defensively, we were largely solid; we’re making progress there, and we kept a clean sheet for the second time in a row. To win games, we primarily need to avoid conceding goals.”

Riera also highlighted his side’s mentality and commitment in a demanding away fixture.

“Like every game, this one was difficult. But I’m not dissatisfied because – as I’ve demanded from day one – our attitude, mindset, and energy were once again spot on. That’s the bare minimum. I’m happy with my lads’ attitude; you can’t come here to St. Pauli and let up in terms of commitment and passion. We gave it our all, but we didn’t win.”

Jonathan Burkardt also reflected on the tense encounter.

“We definitely would have liked to win, but we also know that St. Pauli has enormous quality, especially at home. It was a very, very unpleasant and evenly matched game. The 0-0 draw is fair in the end.”

Frankfurt finish the weekend in seventh place and will now turn their attention to next weekend’s home fixture against Heidenheim at Deutsche Bank Park.