Simonis on thin ice: “A poor performance overall and we deserved to lose”

The Dutch coach briefly lifted some pressure off his shoulders with last weekend’s win over HSV, but tonight’s cup upset has reversed that.

VfL Wolfsburg coach Paul Simonis is starting to feel the heat after their 1-0 DFB-Pokal second round exit to Holstein Kiel this evening. 

“We played another game with too little energy. In the first half, we were very poor with the ball and made many bad decisions. 

“Our opponents posed problems for us with their dangerous transition play. After the break, my team responded well and played a better half with a man down.

“Nevertheless, we put in a poor performance overall and we deserved to lose,” said Simonis, who had no readily available excuses for the abject display at home. 

Meanwhile, Kiel coach Marcel Rapp enjoyed every moment of the cup win with his plucky 2.Bundesliga side on the road. 

“We had good control from the start and decent possession. When we had the ball, we always posed a threat. That’s why we deserved to go into the break with a 1-0 lead.

“The longer the game went on, the more we lost control. We retreated more and more, unable to exert any more pressure. Wolfsburg then had a few more chances. Nevertheless, I think we deserved to advance,” Rapp said.