FSV pick up another win following incredible second-half comeback

1. FSV Mainz 05 picked up a thoroughly deserved 4-1 win against TSG Hoffenheim on Saturday afternoon after putting in comfortably their best performance of the season and producing a brutal second half display. The hosts didn’t let the half-time deficit knock them out of their stride and completely overran the visitors in the second half. Jonny Burkardt, Phillipp Mwene, Brajan Gruda and substitute Karim Onisiwo were all on the scoresheet for Mainz after Pavel Kaderabek had given Hoffenheim a first-half lead.

Bo Henriksen kept faith in the same starting eleven from the win against Darmstadt last weekend. This was the first time the 05ers had fielded an unchanged line-up this season.

FSV set the tempo, but Hoffenheim score out of nothing

It only took the 05ers 40 seconds to get their fans off their feet for the first time. Brajan Gruda set off on a mazy solo run and his deflected effort landed at Leandro Barreiro’s feet, but the midfielder was standing in an offside position when he turned the ball home (1’). It was the start of a lively opening phase which was dominated by Mainz in front of an almost sell-out crowd. However, the hosts struggled to create any more big opportunities initially. That was until the ball found its way to Mwene on the edge of the penalty area following a long throw from Anthony Caci, but Hoffenheim goalkeeper Oliver Baumann got down well to keep out his right-footed effort (13’). Gruda set FSV on the attack again just a minute later and the ball eventually reached Burkardt, whose effort from 20 yards went inches wide of the post (14’). The visitors struggled to gain a foothold in the early stages, but they managed to survive FSV’s continuous pressure and took the lead out of nothing after 19 minutes. Hoffenheim took advantage of a brief numerical advantage when Gruda went off to get treatment for his bloody nose. Andrej Kramaric put a cross into the box from the left-hand side of the pitch and Kaderabek rose highest and beat Zentner to the ball to head into an empty net. FSV went close to finding an immediate equaliser three minutes later through Mwene, but his deflected effort went narrowly wide of the right post (22’).

The visitors were extremely fortunate to be ahead given the 05ers’ dominance in the opening 30 minutes. Caci had a chance to level things up following Nadiem Amiri’s free kick, but he failed to hit the target with his shot on the turn. Dominik Kohr was the next to try his luck as he unleashed two efforts within 30 seconds. First, Baumann denied him from 20 yards after linking up with Mwene, before an effort from 16 yards went just over the bar following good play from Gruda. FSV remained on top and didn’t give Hoffenheim any chances to extend their lead. However, neither Mwene, who found himself through on goal from Kohr’s pass, nor Kohr, whose volley flew across the six-yard box following a corner, were able to find a well-deserved equaliser for the hosts (42’ & 43’). Consequently, the visitors remained in front going into the break despite the fact that Mainz had registered 14 shots to their three, as well as having 53% possession and having won 54% of the individual duels. 

Three goals in sixteen minutes for Mainz

An unchanged M05 side emerged from the dressing rooms ahead of the second half, whilst Marius Bülter replaced David Jurasek for the visitors. The change in personnel did little to alter proceedings, however, as Mainz continued to get the ball forward in search of an equaliser. Lee tried his luck from a tight angle in the 46th minute, but his effort was saved by Baumann. The 05ers would get a well-deserved goal shortly afterwards, however. Caci put an inch-perfect cross into the box, where Burkardt rose highest and nodded home to bag his fifth goal of the season and level things up (47’). However, Mainz were not content with simply drawing level with the away side. FSV continued to get forward in search of goals and were rewarded for their efforts in the 51st minute. After a clearance from a corner, Amiri picked the ball up and laid it off to Mwene, whose strike from the edge of the box took a deflection and ended up in the back of the net to make it 2-1. Mainz had simply picked up where they left off in the second half and ground out a slender lead from there. The hosts kept piling the pressure on Hoffenheim and eventually scored a third goal just after the hour mark. The ball was at Amiri’s feet once again following a corner – this time TSG’s – and Mainz’s number 18 sprinted towards the other end of the pitch. He played a perfectly-timed pass to Mwene, who whipped a ball into the box. Burkardt couldn’t quite reach it, but Gruda was in the right place at the right time to nod in from close range and give the 05ers a two-goal cushion. The MEWA ARENA was rocking after a perfect 18 minutes for the home side.

Mainz took their foot off the gas a little following this frantic period of the match, but still looked impressive and didn’t give their opponents many chances to get back in the game. Henriksen made his first changes as the encounter drew to a close, with captain Silvan Widmer and Karim Onisiwo replacing Caci and Gruda. The two substitutes took no time at all to settle into the rhythm of the game and ensured that Zentner’s goal was under no threat for the remainder of the game. Zentner had a quiet second half, but the same could not be said for his opposite number Baumann, who had to pick the ball out of the Hoffenheim goal once more. Onisiwo obviously wanted to get in on the action and managed to fire home with his weaker foot in the 88th minute. The goal was set up by Tom Krauß, another of Henriksen’s substitutes. The atmosphere at the MEWA ARENA was electric as the Mainz fans slowly geared up to celebrate scoring four goals in a game for the second consecutive home game, as well as another richly-deserved win. “Keep fighting, keep fighting,” was the chant from the crowd during the Humba. It’s definitely something that this team are striving to do.

Mainz’s point tally has jumped to 26 following their fifth win of the campaign. Henriksen’s side will make the trip to SC Freiburg for a clash on Sunday afternoon (19:30 CEST), before welcoming Köln to the MEWA-ARENA six days later.

MAINZ 05 4-1 HOFFENHEIM 

FSV: Zentner - Caci (77’ Widmer), Kohr, van den Berg, Hanche-Olsen (85’ Fernandes), Mwene - Barreiro, Namiri (85’ Krauß) - Gruda (77’ Onisiwo), Burkardt, Lee (90’ Ajorque)
TSG: Baumann - Kaderabek (81’ Skov), Kabak, Grillitsch, Drexler, Jurasek (46’ Jurasek) - Stach, Prömel (60’ Tohumcu), Kramaric - Weghorst (60’ Bebou), Beier

Goals: 0-1 Kaderabek (19’), 1-1 Burkardt (47’), 2-1 Mwene (51’), 3-1 Gruda (63’), 4-1 Onisiwo (88’)

Attendance: 32,000
Referee: Felix Zwayer (Stefan Lupp, Macro Achmüller, Wolfgang Haslberger, Günter Perl)