Munich – TSV 1860 Munich did not experience the start they expected in Braunschweig, where they lost 3-1 to the home team in the first official game of the season. What went wrong for the Lions? Munich’s head coach Reiner Maurer suggested the main cause for this poor start after the match: “We played decent football, but at the same time we lost too many balls and we got punished for this”.

TSV were showing pretty football on the pitch, with good ball possession, but then towards the end of the first half, the  match took a bad turn for 1860.  “Due to some blackouts from some of our more experienced men we suddenly had a two goal deficit at the end of the half,” recalled Maurer.  “Our main problem was that we did not mark our opponents well enough. It was a bad defensive performance from us. We absolutely have to improve from that point of view.”

Defense was then the factor which led to the loss in Braunschweig. And yet defense was one of the strengths that Munich displayed during the preseason, but something went wrong in this first game of the league. Especially for defender Stefan Buck, had a bad day in Saxony. “I have never experienced something like that, that was not my best day for sure,” acknowledged the 30-year-old.

At first he gave away a ball in Munich’s half court and Eintracht Braunschweig would score their third goal, then he fouled a player in the area that led to a penalty kick, and finally in the 58th minute he got his second yellow, which forced his team to play short-handed for thirty minutes. But Buck would like to go back immediately on the pitch and play again.

“I wish we had a week like they do in England (playing three matches per week).  I would like to play now.” His wish will not be satisfied as he will suffer one game suspension, but his will to make good for his poor start seems to be shared by his teammates and that is of course a good sign for the coach.

Maurer stated that he will work on the defensive mistakes during the week.  “We will analyze the game and I will show my players what they did wrong. If we keep making mistakes like that we will not be able to achieve good results”.

Next Saturday 1860 will open up their home schedule against Karlsruher SC, who also won their home opener last weekend. Kickoff is at 15:30 at Allianz Arena.  New 1860 owner and Jordanian investor Hasan Ismaik is expected to be in attendance. Of course he will hope to see a home win, will his presence put a little bit more pressure to the team?

“Of course we will have to get points. But the team has to show more pungency”, admitted Maurer. Will he be able to adjust his defence by bringing back the stability his men showed during the preseason? That is of course the hope of the fans, who will also rely in the players’ will to make up for it after the disappointing start.