Late goals see FSV lose to Union

1. FSV Mainz 05 suffered a home defeat against Union Berlin that was extremely tough to take in the final fixture on Bundesliga matchday 33. Although the hosts side took a while to find their feet ahead of half-time in the 3-1 loss, they found another gear after the interval and came close to taking the lead on several occasions. FSV scored just the once through Sheraldo Becker, with a superb goal by Phillip Tietz ruled out for offside, meaning the Berlin side needed only a late surge to turn the game in their favour. Following Andrej Ilic’s opener, they added further goals through Oliver Burke and Josip Juranovic.

The 05ers made three changes from the side that began the victory away to St. Pauli last weekend. While Robin Zentner featured for the first time in half a year, coming in for Daniel Batz in goal, Dominik Kohr and Anthony Caci replaced Kacper Potulksi and Silvan Widmer.

Mainzer suffer tricky start and fall behind

The home team found it unusually difficult to get into the game. For much of the first half, it was the capital club who had the upper hand, looking livelier and more aggressive. They also had a host of set-pieces early on, which has always proved a source of threat for Union. In the 10th minute, Zentner produced his first brilliant save following a corner, tipping a header from Ilic over the bar from six yard out. It should have been a wake-up call, but initially did little to alter the course of proceedings. Things went from bad to worse for Mainz, as Danny da Costa was forced off injured after 16 minutes, replaced by Potulski.

It was only after a good half-hour that FSV gradually broke free from the Berliners’ stranglehold and began to make their mark. Becker skilfully broke through in the penalty area and played the ball to Potulski. He, however, seemed not to have expected the pass to reach him and was ultimately unable to control it cleanly. It was a moment that was tough to take, since the defender had been completely unmarked in front of the Union goal (33’). Mainz’s first spell of pressure was followed by the away side’s go-ahead goal, though, which originated from a corner. Christopher Trimmel played a short pass to Aljoscha Kemlein, whose cross caused Zentner no end of trouble and was powered into the net by Ilic (38’). The final stages of the half then belonged to the hosts, who came close to an equaliser on two occasions. Firstly, Potulski failed to convert a cross from Kaishu Sano (45’+7) before, three minutes later, the Japanese midfielder powered his way into the penalty area himself and fired in a rasping low shot. Carl Klaus was able to save with his feet (90’+10). Livan Burcu had the last word of the opening period, forcing Zentner into another brilliant save with a shot at the near post (45’+11).

FSV push forward but are caught out late on

The second half started in a very different vein from the first. An unchanged FSV side were fully at it from the get-go and took under 180 seconds to equalise. Paul Nebel had plenty of time and space on the right flank to deliver a precise cross into the centre, which found Becker. The striker volleyed home from 10 yards to make it 1–1 against his former club (48’). A second goal seemed imminent in the aftermath of the goal and four minutes later, it was Potulski who again came close to scoring his first Bundesliga goal at the MEWA ARENA. Following an Amiri free-kick from the halfway line, he found himself completely unmarked in the penalty area, but Claus reacted sensationally to deny the header from close-range (52’). The Mainz fans were off their seats not long after, though. The 05ers pinned Union back, in and around their own penalty area, with Kohr ultimately delivering a silky cross to the far post. Tietz then produced an eye-catching looped finish to grab what looked like the lead. As beautiful as the strike was, the attacker had ventured into a marginal offside position moments earlier, so the score remained level. The Berliners managed to shake off the sustained pressure of the first 15 minutes of the second half but hardly created anything going forward.

After 69 minutes, Urs Fischer made his first changes, bringing on Jae-sung Lee for Nebel and Niki Veratschnig for Caci. Nebel had come close to scoring a second goal moments earlier, when a header from a Becker cross went narrowly over the bar (70’). Although Mainz continued to dominate the game, they rarely managed to create chances in the closing stages. It was a different story for Union, who turned things up a notch and made the most of the space afforded to them. In the 84th minute, the Berliners counter-attacked through Ilic, who hit the crossbar from 18 yards. Burke then fared better, though, receiving a pass from Ilic in the centre two minutes before the end of regulation time and he restored the lead with a clinical finish (88’). In stoppage time, with Mainz pushing high up the pitch, the contest was put to bed. Tim Skarke broke clear down the left, rounded Zentner and spotted the onrushing Jovanovic in the middle of the box, who simply had to tap the ball in from a few yards. The closing stages turned the course of the second half on its head to some extent; however, in light of how the first half had gone, Union were not undeserved winners on the whole.

Despite the defeat, the 05ers remain 10th in the standings after 33 rounds of fixtures and travel to face 1. FC Heidenheim this coming Saturday on the final day of the season (kick-off 15:30 CEST). The hosts have everything to play for in the battle to avoid the drop.