- Another Test defeat for Kiel
Rising star Holstein Kiel suffered their fourth consecutive friendly defeat just days before the start of competitive play. Against French Ligue 1 side AS St. Etienne, the Bundesliga team lost 2:3 in an extended 120-minute test.
While Shuto Machino ended Kiel's 487-minute goal drought with a penalty (39.), they failed to convert other high-quality chances. Marko Ivezic did manage to equalize at 2:2 (97.).
"Of course, it's a friendly," said Lewis Holtby, who was appointed captain by coach Marcel Rapp, "but it's worse if we had four losses in the league." He criticized, "What bothers me most is that we concede two goals in ten weaker minutes and miss eight, nine 100% chances throughout the game. We need to work on our efficiency."
Coach Rapp isn't worried about the losing streak against Kaiserslautern (0:1), Mönchengladbach (0:1), Mainz (0:2), and St. Etienne affecting Kiel's confidence: "We want to learn. If we had chosen weaker opponents, we might have won four times."
Marcel Rapp, the newly appointed captain, expressed his concerns after Holstein Kiel's friendly loss to AS St. Etienne, saying, "What bothers me most is that we concede two goals in ten weaker minutes and miss eight, nine 100% chances throughout the game. We need to work on our efficiency."
During his post-match interview, coach Marcel Rapp also mentioned, "If we had chosen weaker opponents, we might have won four times," indicating his belief that learning from tough matches is more beneficial than easily winning friendly matches.
