Toppmöller relieved at first win

'Two home games left'
Toppmöller was pleased that his troops had finally managed to record a win at the third attempt, and was particularly happy that the win came away from home. "We have now got our first win, and we still have two homes games left to play," he said. Leverkusen entertain Maccabi Haifa in the return in three weeks' time, and will also host Olympiakos Piraeus FC at the BayArena.

'A different side'
The Leverkusen coach also expressed relief at the way his team's opponents, who were so vibrant in last week's 3-0 dismantling of Olympiakos, had played. "I was very pleased that Haifa were a completely different side tonight," he said. "Perhaps their last win sapped a lot of their strength."

'We were too tired’
Toppmöller's opposite number, Itzhak Shum, agreed with this assessment, blaming exhaustion, caused by both playing and travelling, for his side's performance. "My players were too tired for such a big match," Shum said. "I have no problem playing three matches a week, but we have a much smaller squad than our opponents. No other club in Europe has to play what are effectively six away games, flying to matches and all the hassle that goes with such trips."

'We did not take our chances'
He went on to bemoan his side's finishing, saying: "Until now, we have converted most of our chances, and today we failed to do so, especially with the penalty. However, I am pleased we created so many chances, as they are so hard to come by at this level."

'It did not go our way'
Although critical of his side's performance in front of goal, Shum refused to condemn Avishay Zano, who missed Maccabi Haifa's best chance from the penalty spot. "Good players have missed penalties in the past and great players will keep on missing penalties in the future," he added. "Even though Ya'akoubu scored a penalty last week, the players gave Zano the honour today, and sadly it didn't go our way."

'We were never outplayed'
Shum's optimism was shared by his players, all of whom congratulated Leverkusen while insisting that Maccabi Haifa could take heart from their display. Zano said: "Leverkusen are a good side, but nothing more than that. They did not play us off the park at any stage."

'No way back'
Yaniv Katan was more generous in his praise of Maccabi Haifa's opponents, saying, "We played against a very strong side which didn't reach last season's final by chance."

'Impossible to come back'
However, he echoed his coach's view that Maccabi had spurned their best opportunities, saying: "When you miss a penalty and concede two goals, it is almost impossible to come back."