05ers end training camp with victory against Crystal Palace

1. FSV Mainz 05 ended their pre-season training camp in Austria with a 4-3 win against Crystal Palace at the Hans-Ludwig-Stadion in Wals-Grönau. The two sides faced each other across two 60-minute halves. Nelson Weiper equalised for FSV in the first half, after the Premier League outfit had taken the lead through former 05er Jean-Philippe Mateta. Head coach Bo Henriksen sent out a fully changed line-up for the second half, with Armindo Sieb. Ben Bobzien and Konstantin Schopp opening up a dominant lead against Crystal Palace. Romain Esse got one back for the visitors, before Maxence Lacroix netted again late on.

“Both teams did very well” 

“The lads did a great job,” said FSV board member for sport Christian Heidel after the first 60-minute half. “It was a good experience,” added head coach Bo Henriksen. “We have worked on a lot of different areas during training camp, such as our pressing up front or defending as a group. We need to improve on the ball a bit still. But, every player knew what to do, they were all well prepared and knew what we wanted to see. That’s important for us. The lads have worked hard, which is part of the culture of this club,” the Dane continued. “Both teams did very well; the second half was a little better. Overall, I’m satisfied with both halves. We saw that we have a strong squad that offers us plenty of options. We now have three weeks left, and I hope that we become even better.”

Strong performance during the first 60 minutes 

Both teams looked to put the opposition under pressure from the start by pressing high and looking to get in behind quickly. In the second minute, after winning the ball high up the pitch, the 05ers had the first big opportunity of the game through Weiper. The Mainz academy product was played in by Nadiem Amiri, but Palace goalkeeper Dean Henderson made the save with his feet. FSV also had the second dangerous attack of what was an entertaining start to the game from both sides. Stefan Bell rose highest to meet a corner from Amiri, but Henderson was there again (8’). Off the ball, Mainz had be wary of the opponent’s individual class and quality on the ball. Manager Oliver Glasner’s side had more than a few half chances during the first 15 minutes, but nothing came of them. Robin Zentner was only called into action from a shot by Eberechi Eze.

At the other end, new signing Benedict Hollerbach missed the chance to put his side ahead. Amiri was the creator once again. Hollerbach’s shot from around 13 yards out after the Mainz captain’s square pass went narrowly wide of the post (15’). The 05ers remained lively and would have deserved to take the lead when Paul Nebel’s shot struck the woodwork (20’). Kaishu Sano had previously won the ball back brilliantly on the edge of the penalty area. Henriksen’s team particularly showed their quality on the counterattack through long balls in behind the defence or through the pacy Hollerbach on the left wing. There was still room to improve in terms of their finishing, however. Anthony Caci forced Henderson into making another excellent stop with a close-range volley after latching on to a header by a Palace defender (23’). It wasn’t until just before the first drinks break, on the half-hour mark, that the English side threatened Zentner’s goal again. Ismaila Sarr was successfully challenged by the Mainz defence, however.

Eze had the first opportunity in the second part of the first hour with a shot over the bar (37’). Soon after, former 05er Jean-Philippe Mateta opened the scoring for Palace. Zentner initially made a good save in a one-on-one with Sarr. His pullback then landed at the feet of Mateta. The 28-year-old’s shot may have been going narrowly wide of goal, but a deflection off Danny da Costa saw the ball find the net anyway (38’). Weiper almost equalised immediately afterwards, but his strike from around 12 yards out was blocked at the crucial moment. Now, though, the Eagles were coping much better with Mainz’s high-intensity style. Tyrick Mitchell’s first-time shot also threatened the FSV goal (48’). A homegrown talent then netted a deserved equaliser for Mainz.  Following a counterattack led by Amiri and Dominik Kohr, Henderson saved well again from Hollerbach, but Weiper's follow-up beat the English goalkeeper and made it 1-1 (55'). That was the final flourish of an entertaining first hour, in which the 05ers had delivered a strong performance for long spells. Their finishing and the opposition goalkeeper were what prevented Mainz from scoring more goals.

FSV starting line-up first half: Zentner - Mwene, Sano, Nebel, Amiri (C), Bell, Hollerbach, Caci, Da Costa, Kohr, Weiper

Scoreline at half-time: 1-1

05ers impress again in goal-laden second period

The 05ers started the second period with a completely new and younger team, as did the opponents. Maxim Leitsch made up the back three along with Kacper Potulski and Konstantin Schopp. Arnaud Nordin and Silvan Widmer were on the flanks, and Lennard Maloney and Daniel Gleiber started in midfield, while Sota Kawasaki, Bobzien and Sieb manned the attack.

Around four minutes after the restart, Schopp lifted a long ball from his own half over the Palace backline. His pass found Sieb, who got his head to it in front of goalkeeper Walter Benítez to put FSV in front for the first time (64’). This Mainz side, which had a mixture of youth and experience, got into their rhythm quickly and stretched their lead to two less than ten minutes later. Nordin sped down the left to the byline and lifted a perfect cross onto the head of Bobzien, who nodded a well-placed header into the corner (73’). The match was more tightly contested and there were fewer goalscoring opportunities than in the first half, but the 05ers remained the more dangerous side against a team that was still full of big names. Before the first drinks break, Lasse Rieß only had to save a harmless shot from Daichi Kamada. At the other end, Sieb missed the opportunity to get his second after being played through on Benítez’s goal by Bobzien, as he fired over the bar (85’). Mainz 05 finished the first half of the second period with a deserved two-goal advantage.

Kasey Bos came in on the left of the back three for the final half hour. The 05ers picked up where they left off and kept on forcing Glasner’s side to defend. After a cross towards the far post from Widmer, Leitsch initially headed off the inside of the post, but Schopp turned in the follow-up to net his first goal for the club and to make it 4-1 (97’). Romain Esse cut the deficit when he scored Palace’s second goal with a fine individual effort. In a rain-soaked last few minutes, Maxence Lacroix headed home for 4-3 (116’). This was the final big moment of a goal-laden second period.

FSV starting line-up second half: Rieß - Leitsch, Nordin, Sieb, Maloney, Schopp, Kawasaki, Widmer (C), Bobzien, Gleiber, Potulski (91’ Bos)

MAINZ 05 4-3 CRYSTAL PALACE

Goals: 0-1 Own goal (38’), 1-1 Weiper (55’), 2-1 Sieb (64’), 3-1 Bobzien (73’), 4-1 Schopp (97’), 4-2 Esse (108’), 4-3 Lacroix (116’)