Berlin break lifts Sibon's spirits

SC Heerenveen's Gerald Sibon told uefa.com he had enjoyed this week's trip to Berlin, even catching some of the German capital's sights before helping earn his side vital UEFA Europa League points with victory against Hertha BSC Berlin.

'Important win'
Hernán Losada's first-half goal at the Olympiastadion proved enough to give the Dutch side a first away win in European competition in nine attempts, hoisting them into second place in Group D. Sibon admitted the three points on top of a spot of sightseeing were more than he had been bargaining for. "We went to Checkpoint Charlie on our morning walk. It was really cool," enthused the 35-year-old, who was equally enamoured with his team's display. "It was a very important win, especially when you want to go through from the group stage. We needed at least a point here, because we've got a home game coming up. But we won, and the other game in the group was good for us too, so we're second now and we've got everything to play for."

Continental ambition
FK Ventspils' 2-1 home defeat to Sporting Clube de Portugal means Heerenveen now enjoy a two-point cushion over the Latvian side with Hertha a point further adrift. With qualification for the knockout phase a realistic goal, Sibon insisted the squad would not allow their focus to blur when it came to continental competition despite struggling domestically. "We worked hard for European football last year so we don't want to give that away; both the league and the Europa League are important to us," said the veteran forward, whose team have notched up just two Eredivisie wins this season. "It's really nice to play those European games; we want to play them and we have a chance to go through. It's good to play games – it's better than training. I'd rather play three games in a week than train all week."

'No fear'
Sibon will get his wish come early November when Hertha arrive in the Netherlands for Matchday 4, and he believes a second encounter with a side currently bottom of the Bundesliga after eight successive league defeats holds no fears. "They're definitely a team that's struggling," said the Dutch Olympic international. "We're looking forward to the game with a lot of confidence. We don't have to fear them. We just have to play our own game, and score one more goal than them – it's easy."