FSV fightback not enough to claim a point

FSV scored their first three goals at the MEWA ARENA this season, but it wasn’t enough to give the home fans a first home win to celebrate. The hosts put in a strong combative performance against a Leverkusen side who set the tone for much of the game, but ultimately had to admit to a close 4-3 defeat. Alejandro Grimaldo’s two first-half goals sandwiched a Kofane strike which gave the visitors a 3-1 lead heading into the break, with the FSV goal coming from Jae-sung Lee. The second half was a back and forth affair, with Nadiem Amiri’s penalty being followed by a Martin Terrier strike which restored the visitors’ two-goal lead. Armindo Sieb’s late goal proved to be just a consolation, as the game finished 4-3 to Leverkusen.

The coach made two changes after the defeat to HSV before the international break, bringing Stefan Bell in for Andreas Hanche-Olsen in the centre of defence and Nikolas Veratschnig in for Arnaud Nordin on the right-hand side.

Leverkusen show their quality

Mainz were the better side in the opening exchanges, as Leverkusen looked to sit back and lure their opponents into a trap. The visitors got their first chance after nine minutes, when Christian Kofane switched the play to Jonas Hofmann, who forced Mainz’s goalkeeper Lasse Rieß into a fingertip save. Mainz half cleared the resulting corner, with Veratschnig going to pick up the loose ball, however the Austrian was too slow and allowed Hofmann to steal the ball before fouling him in the box. Grimaldo stepped up to take the penalty and fired into the bottom corner, past Rieß at full stretch (11’). It was another early setback for the 05ers, who would have gone two goals behind just five minutes later had their goalkeeper not made the save against Ernest Poku. FSV recovered and began to create opportunities of their own, including a rather controversial one. 21 minutes in, Nadiem Amiri found Paul Nebel on the byline, who was then caught by a strong challenge from Edmond Tapsoba. Referee Florian Exner saw no wrongdoing, which those in red and white saw as a questionable decision. Things went from bad to worse for the 05ers, as the visitors combined with each other brilliantly on the edge of the box, setting Kofane up to finish past Rieß and make it 2-0 (24’).

It was another forgettable start to a game for those in red and white. The first real chance for FSV came in the 26th minute, when Benedict Hollerbach headed just wide of the post following a Nebel cross. This seemed to be a wakeup call for Henriksen’s side, who began to play with a lot more aggression and attacking intent. After 34 minutes, Leverkusen failed to clear a Mwene throw-in and the ball fell to Lee who gave Mark Flekken no chance from close range. The noise inside the MEWA ARENA was turned back up and FSV did look like equalising, despite not creating any real chances, with only Amiri’s 20-yard free kick in the 41st minute came close to Flekken’s goal. Everything seemed to point towards a narrow 2-1 Leverkusen lead at half time, however the 05ers let their opponents in once again. Instead of clearing the ball out of the area, both Kaishu Sano and Lee tried to play out from the back and only found Hofmann, who passed to the unmarked Grimaldo to beat Rieß once again. Nebel’s curling effort which struck the bar marked the end of a quite naive Mainz first-half performance.

Exciting until the very end

Neither side made a change at half time, and it was the visitors who came out firing, almost putting the game out of reach for Mainz early on. Grimaldo once again pounced on a Mainz mistake, but fired his effort wide of the mark. Leverkusen looked more and more like a side just that level above FSV in terms of quality. They let the ball do the work by making Mainz chase it about and came close again to their fourth goal. Grimaldo set Kofane free in front of Rieß’s goal, but the striker was unable to get his effort on target. The 05ers had their first chance of the second half and won the ball deep in Leverkusen territory, however both Lee and Hollerbach were denied from close range following Amiri’s cross. FSV managed to get back into a game that they could have easily lost early on. In the 68th minute, Mwene won a free kick on the right-hand side, which Amiri laid off to Nordin. The winger, who had just been brought on for Veratschnig, unleashed a fierce effort which crashed against the post. Mwene picked up the rebound and was fouled in the box by Arthur, giving Amiri the chance to get a goal back for the hosts from the spot, which he of course did (71’).

It was a goal that gave the final exchanges a much more open feel, as the 05ers piled the pressure on a nervous looking Leverkusen side. Despite the added aggression and attacking intent, the hosts didn’t really threaten their opponents’ goal. Kasper Hjulmand’s side didn’t do much for the rest of the game, but did score what looked to be the goal that sealed Mainz’s fate late on. Terrier got on the end of a Ben Seghir cross and, at the third time of asking, restored his side’s two-goal lead. Despite the setback, FSV kept pushing and found the back of the net again soon after. Amiri brilliantly set up substitute Sieb who produced a fine finish into the far corner. All 33,305 spectators were on the edge of their seats for the eight minutes of added time that followed, but the home side failed to find an equaliser. Getting a point out of the game looked to be an impossible task, but the clear improvements after the hour mark gave all those inside the MEWA ARENA hope of a comeback. 

This fifth defeat of the season leaves Mainz lingering near the bottom of the table, with four points from their opening seven matches. They go again on Thursday (21:00 CEST), as they welcome Zrinjski Mostar to the MEWA ARENA on matchday 2 of the UEFA Conference League. Three days later, the 05ers face VfB Stuttgart in the Bundesliga, as they continue their search for points.