Aue coach Khvicha Shubitidze promptly countered the praise from visiting coach Christian Ilzer for his team’s courageous performance. “We had more courageous moments than I had hoped for. But in the end, we were perhaps a little too bold and should have been a bit smarter,” Shubitidze concluded after the 0-4 loss in the DFB Cup against Europa League participant TSG 1899 Hoffenheim.
He also took issue with the referee following the first-round elimination. “Luck wasn’t on our side in this match. In my opinion, there were two very unfortunate referee decisions that were also decisive for the outcome and tipped the game in the wrong direction,” said the coach, explaining: “Early on, there was at least one penalty. According to our video analyst, the handball was followed by a very clear foul. So normally, that should have resulted in a penalty kick for us. If the score had been 1–0 then, maybe everything would have gone in the right direction.”
