In the first round NK Maribor scored in injury time against Sporting Lisbon to win its first point this year. Although coach Ante Šimundža was full of confidence when he said that they would go play in Germany in the second round to win, not a lot of people believed that his team could achieve a positive result. However they did!

Bohar: Viler's passes have eyes
Maribor's lightning attack before the end of the first half, which resulted with a goal, was started by Željko Filipović. He stole possession in midfield and passed the ball on to Mitja Viler, who beautifully assisted Damjan Bohar in the middle, who then scored his third goal in this year's European campaign. "We kept to the instructions we were given. The ball went on the wing and found Viler, who has proven more than once, that his passes have eyes," is what the scorer of the goal told Val 202 reporter Luka Petrič.

Filipović: We gave them their chances
"The feelings are phenomenal, but there is a bitter taste to it all. Schalke is among the top three clubs in Germany. We played maturely and at the end I think we can be pleased with the result," added Bohar. Maribor played an excellent match and as Željko Filipović put it, they did not allow the hosts to create many opportunities to score. "They didn't create any chances by themselves because we positioned ourselves well on the field. The chances they did get were mostly the result of our mistakes. We could have also won."

Ibraimi: We knew how to keep possession
Despite winning one point Agim Ibraimi had a sour face after the match. "We are a bit disappointed. We had a lot of chances to score – especially on the counter-attack. Those were our biggest chances and we should have taken advantage of them. We knew how to keep possession of the ball, but sadly we didn't know how score on the counter-attack. We know we could have done more."

Šimundža: Mistakes are a part of sport
Mitja Viler was most disappointed and was the last to enter the team bus. He assisted for Maribor's goal in the first half, however in the second half is also unintentionally made an assist to Klaas Jan Huntelaar, who took advantage of the mistake and set the final result. Coach Šimundža was not critical. "Mistakes are a part of sport. We did give them the chance to score, but that happens. We want to think positive."

On Saturday the derby against Olimpija
Schalke's coach Jens Keller explained after the match that their derby match in the German Bundesliga at the end of last week, when they beat Borrussia Dortmund 2:1, took away a lot of energy from his players. The German media was less understanding, and some called the draw with NK Maribor a disgrace. A derby match now also awaits Maribor. On Saturday, at the Ljudski Vrt stadium, the team will play host to Olimpija Ljubljana in the Slovenian football championship.

S. J., Luka Petrič; Val 202
translated by K. J.