Grischa Prömel admitted that the poor playing surface made life difficult for VfB Stuttgart during Wednesday's 3-0 Champions League victory over Slovan Bratislava.
Sebastian Hoeneß's side secured their second consecutive victory in the competition thanks to goals from Deniz Undav and Ermedin Demirovic, either side of a Sandro Cruz own goal.
Speaking to DAZN after the match, Prömel was asked about the condition of the pitch, with Hoeneß having insisted beforehand that it should not be used as an excuse.
"He said that to us again. Of course, it's not entirely easy, but the opposition are playing on the same pitch," the midfielder explained.
"I think you could see that there was simply a lot of sand on it. A lot of players were slipping.
"Nevertheless, we accepted the conditions, worked our way into the game and deserved to win."
Despite the convincing scoreline, Stuttgart endured some difficult moments in the second half, with the hosts threatening to get themselves back into the contest.
Prömel acknowledged that the visitors could have made life easier by taking more chances before the break.
"In the first half, we missed the opportunity to add another goal or two, which meant the game remained open," he said.
"You could see in one or two situations that the opposition aren't in the Champions League for nothing.
"Credit to the team for defending well despite that and scoring the goals towards the end.
"Two wins from two games in the Champions League is a good thing."
Stuttgart now turn their attention back to the Bundesliga, with an away trip to Hamburger SV awaiting them on Saturday.
"We've got a game every three days, with Hamburg coming up in three days, so we don't have much time," Prömel added.
