Brilliant Burkardt inspires Mainz to victory over Bochum

On the club’s 119th birthday, 1. FSV Mainz 05 stormed to a crucial – and deserved – home win over VfL Bochum. The first half was for the most part a disjointed and cagey affair, with few clear chances falling to either team, but with the half-time whistle approaching, a foul on Lee Jae-sung gave Mainz a golden opportunity to secure the lead going into the break. Jonny Burkardt made no mistake from the spot, and turned in Lee’s cross from close range after the break to make it two and secure a third FSV win of the season.

Bo Henriksen made four changes from the side that started last week’s defeat in Munich, with Josuha Guilavogui, Silvan Widmer, Tom Krauß and Brajan Gruda making way for Dominik Kohr, Andreas Hanche-Olsen, Leandro Barreiro and Ludovic Ajorque.

A tight game, but Burkardt keeps his cool

Less than a minute had been played when Kohr picked up a yellow card for a chopping challenge on Takuma Asano on the flank – a clear indication by Matthias Jöllenback that he was in no mood to show any leniency in this six-pointer at the foot of the table. Ludovic Ajorque also went into the book early on after bringing down ex-Mainz man Kevin Stöger in midfield on 8 minutes. The opening quarter of an hour was one of attrition, with very little quality in the final third. It would take until the 16th minute for the hosts to have their first sight of goal as Caci released Burkardt down the right, but the 23-year-old’s cross was unable to find a teammate in the centre. FSV were by now beginning to grow into the game, and it would be the hosts who had the next opportunity, as a mishit Kohr effort from just outside the box was almost deflected in by Ajorque (20’).  A moment of real quality would not come until after the half-hour mark in what was otherwise a fairly turgid affair, but Burkardt was unable to make the most of a threaded through ball from Lee, with Bochum defender Patrick Osterhage on hand to get his body in the way of the shot (35’). At the other end, Lukas Daschner was inches away from making contact with a cross from Asano, leaving Robin Zentner to gratefully scoop it up (36’). The first period reached a crescendo as it entered its closing stages. First, Burkardt met a Mwene cross in the six-yard box before being clattered by the ‘keeper, though VAR decided there was no foul upon review (43’). Mainz would get their penalty, however, in the dying embers of the half, as Bernardo brought down Lee in the area. Burkardt slotted home to the goalkeeper’s left to give his side a deserved advantage at the halfway mark (45+3’).

05ers spurn opportunities while Burkardt remains clinical

FSV returned for the second half with an unchanged side, while Philipp Hofmann replaced Moritz Broschinski for the visitors. The switch appeared to give Bochum a boost in energy, as Stöger fed Asano in the box, but the winger could only find the side netting (46’). For Mainz, Ajorque tried his luck from distance, but his attempt was well wide of the target (49’). Bochum’s more offensive approach in the second half resulted in a more open game, but Mainz were initially unable to take advantage. In the 53rd minute, Burkardt sent Mwene on a run, but he was unable to find Amiri in the middle. Bochum thought they had found an equaliser on 57 minutes, but Hofmann’s strike was ruled out for an offside in the build-up. FSV head coach Henriksen made changes after an hour, with the cautioned Kohr and fatigued Hanche-Olsen making way for Widmer and Guilavogui. The 05ers saw more of the ball after those alterations, but repeatedly lacked that cutting edge in attack.

And so it would take another set piece to produce a second goal. Amiri’s corner initially went beyond Burkardt at the far post, but Caci crossed the ball back in from the left, and a cushioned header from Lee left Burkardt with a simple tap-in to double the lead. The goalscorer was replaced shortly afterwards to be replaced by Karim Onisiwo, while Jessic Ngankam took the place of Ajorque. FSV spurned chances to extend their advantage through Mwene and Lee (75, 77’), and as the game entered its final phase a goal for Bochum could still have put the cat amongst the pigeons. That goal almost came in the 84th minute, but the combined efforts of the Mainz backline ensured that the clean sheet was kept intact. Van den Berg was on hand to clear Asano’s effort off the line, before Zentner dealt with the follow-up from Paciencia (84’). That would prove to be the final moment of note in the match, and Mainz held out to secure a third win of the season.

The win moves Mainz ahead of Köln into the relegation play-off place, and closes the gap to Bochum – and safety – to six points. The 05ers visit RB Leipzig in their first fixture after the international break, before hosting Darmstadt 98 and TSG 1899 Hoffenheim at the MEWA ARENA.

Mainz 05 2-0 Bochum

FSV: Zentner - Mwene, Kohr (Widmer 61’), van den Berg, Hanche-Olsen (Guilavogui 61’), Caci - Barreiro, Amiri - Lee, Burkardt (Ngankam 73’), Ajorque (Onisiwo 73’)

VfL: Riemann - Masovic (Passlack 74’), Ordets, Schlotterbeck, Bernardo - Osterhage (Wittek 75’), Losilla, Asano, Stöger, Daschner (Paciencia 74’) - Broschinski (Hofmann 46’)

Goals: 1-0 Burkardt (45+3’, P), 2-0 Burkardt (71’)

Attendance: 33,000

Officials: Matthias Jöllenbeck (Sven Waschitzki-Günther, Jonas Weickenmeier, Robert Hartmann, Patrick Hanslbauer)