05ers lose to Köln despite half-time lead

Urs Fischer was forced to accept defeat for the first time as Mainz head coach on Saturday afternoon, as his 1. FSV Mainz 05 side lost 2-1 away at newly promoted side 1. FC Köln. Stefan Bell had given the visitors a deserved lead in the first half with a stunning finish, before the hosts came back out from the break a much better side. Köln created far more chances in the second half and ultimately secured all three points in what ended up being a fair result. The change in formation, combined with the substitutions, proved just too much for Mainz in the second half. Köln substitute Ragnar Ache scored both of his side’s goals after the break.

Fischer and his coaching team made three changes from the side that beat Heidenheim. The injured Nikolas Veratschnig was replaced by Kacper Potulski, while Nadiem Amiri’s absence due to illness opened up a starting spot for Paul Nebel. New signing Silas was handed his debut, with Armindo Sieb dropping to the bench.

Brilliant goal gives FSV deserved lead

Both teams started the game cautiously, with neither side getting the upper hand over the other during the opening exchanges. The first real effort came after ten minutes, but Jakub Kaminski’s curling effort was nowhere near Daniel Batz’s goal. The hosts offered very little going forward and looked mainly towards Said El Mala, who was well marked by the Mainz defence. The 05ers looked far more determined as they registered their first chance of the game. A Nebel cross was flicked on by Silvan Widmer towards Potulski, who flicked a toe at it, but could only find the post with his effort (19’). Potulski’s shot was the tenth time that Mainz have hit the woodwork so far this season. Bad luck for the visitors, however, they did seem to get a boost out of the missed chance. The 05ers kept things tight at the back, while also looking to get in behind the Köln defence. It was no surprise then that it was the visitors who opened the scoring. Nebel took a quick throw-in to da Costa, who crossed into the box to the feet of Bell. The centre-back, in true centre-forward fashion, took the ball under his control and turned, before firing a powerful effort which crashed off the underside of the bar, leaving Schwäbe with no chance – a quite brilliant goal (29’).

The rest of the first half belonged to Mainz, who missed a chance to double their advantage soon after the opener. Phillip Tietz set his strike partner Silas in behind with only Schwäbe to beat, but he was denied by a fine reflex save by the Köln goalkeeper (36’). The new signing was a constant threat and almost scored again shortly afterward. Schwäbe had to clear a short back pass with his head outside the penalty area. The ball fell to Silas, who tried his luck from 40 yards, but the recovering Isak Johannesson cleared the ball for his stranded goalkeeper (39'). Köln, on the other hand, only managed a few set pieces before the break, all of which came to nothing.

Köln show their dominance

Köln emerged from the half-time break having made three changes, while Mainz remained unchanged. The hosts didn’t take long to threaten the Mainz goal, as Alessio Castro-Montes set up Marius Bülter, but the striker could not find a way past Batz (50’). It was Bülter again, having already scored in the reverse fixture at the start of the season, who had Köln’s next chance. He found himself with the ball following a corner and struck a volley towards goal, but it flew over the crossbar (55’). Köln’s continued pressure finally paid off two minutes later. Lee’s pass towards Silas found an opponent instead, leaving Castro-Montes far too much time and space to cross towards the equally unmarked Ache, who gave Batz no chance from 5 yards out – 1-1 (57’). Fischer wasted no time and made a change straight away, bringing Sieb on for Silas, who could be pleased with his debut performance. Köln’s pressure began to let up and Mainz finally managed another shot at goal through a deflected Tietz effort, which Schwäbe needed to fully stretch to reach (62’). The hosts remained the more dangerous side, though, and Ache should have scored again. The striker found himself unmarked in the box, but his shot from 12 yards went wide (65’). Bülter then had another effort four minutes later, but his curling strike was denied by a brilliant save from Batz.

Mainz began the closing stages with another change of personnel, bringing Lennard Maloney on for the injured goalscorer Bell, while Jae-sung Lee was replaced by William Bøving (73’). The substitutions served mainly to give the 05ers a break for a few seconds, a luxury they hadn’t had since the restart. It was, however, the visitors who had the next chance. Despite struggling to find their rhythm for much of the second half, Nebel found Sieb in a great position, but the striker fired it straight at Schwäbe. Mainz were then forced to swallow the most bitter of pills five minutes before the end of normal time. Bülter flicked the ball on from a corner, da Costa’s attempted clearance struck the post, and the rebound bounced off the head of Ache and into the back of the net (85’). Despite the late introductions of Arnaud Nordin and Fabio Moreno Fell, FSV could not overturn the deficit. For the first time in four Bundesliga matches, Mainz were forced to leave the pitch empty-handed. The defeat was ultimately deserved, as Köln’s second-half pressure simply proved too much.

With 12 points from 18 games, Mainz sit in 17th place in the Bundesliga table. They go again next Saturday, when they welcome VfL Wolfsburg to the MEWA ARENA (15:30 CET).