Mainz miss out on fourth home win in a row

FSV Mainz 05 were held to a 1-1 draw at home against Hamburger SV in the opening fixture of matchday 23. Mainz had taken the lead before the break, even after the visitors had begun to assert a slight advantage, with Nadiem Amiri’s finish from a Danny da Costa cross perfectly executed. In the second half, Mainz largely dictated the play, but HSV were fortunate enough to find their equaliser when a weak free-kick from Fabio Vieira was deflected into the net.

Head coach Urs Fischer was forced into making two changes to the line-up that began last weekend’s game in Dortmund. Defensive starlet Kacper Potulski came into the Mainz backline in place of an injured Stefan Bell, while Silvan Widmer was replaced by Phillipp Mwene as the captain served a yellow-card suspension.

FSV take their time to grow into the game

Due to heavy traffic around the MEWA ARENA, the match kicked off ten minutes late, and both teams followed suit in also taking a little time to get going. While Mainz were the more active side in the opening minutes, it was the visitors who had the first attempt on goal. Following an FSV corner, HSV launched a counter-attack, with Fabio Vieira shooting unchallenged from just over 20 yards, forcing Daniel Batz into making his first save of the match (4’). The hosts were keen to bring some structure into the game but struggled against a well-organised opposition. The Rothosen got their second chance to do some damage when Warmed Omari tested Batz from almost the same position as Vieira had earlier, but the Mainz keeper once again reacted brilliantly (21’). HSV looked the side more likely to take the lead at this stage, yet former Mainz striker Robert Glatzel couldn’t make it count following an attacking move down the left, with Batz making yet another sharp save in the 27th minute.

It was only then that Mainz began to probe the opposition penalty area. Danny da Costa broke forward on the right flank and delivered a cross into the centre for Nadiem Amiri, who fired an effort high over the bar (28’). Two minutes later, Silas forced his way towards the area and unleashed a shot from the edge of the box, only for Daniel Heuer Fernandes to make a strong save to keep it all square after the first half an hour (30’). There was little more action until shortly before the break, when Mainz finally found their rhythm and took a fairly deserved lead. Da Costa swung in a perfectly hit half-height cross from the right, and Amiri met it first time, rifling the ball just inside of the far post (42'). The strike saw Mainz grab hold of the game with a 1-0 lead, which remained the score on the board as both teams headed in for half time.

Mainz dominant, HSV fortunate

At the restart, Fischer replaced Silas with Sheraldo Becker, with Silas having picked up a yellow in the first half. Mainz came out of the blocks in the same way they had finished the first period, immediately shutting down any space for the visitors. It wasn’t until the 57th minute that Hamburg looked to threaten again, when Nicolas Capaldo attempted one from 20 yards out, but his effort went well wide of the Mainz goal (57'). The 05ers responded almost straight away, bringing on Nikolas Veratschnig for Kohr, who was also on a yellow (58'). The next chance fell to the hosts: Da Costa whipped another delivery into the box, finding Philipp Tietz in the centre, but his header landed narrowly wide of the far post (61'). Only a few moments later, almost out of nowhere, HSV drew level. Vieira fired a free-kick into the wall from 22 yards out, but Da Costa inadvertently deflected the ball towards his own goal, leaving Batz with no chance to keep out what had hardly been a brilliantly struck set-piece from the Arsenal loanee. The game had become a scrappy affair at the MEWA ARENA, with Hamburger SV seemingly content enough to take a point while still looking for opportunities on the break to steal a victory. For Mainz, however, a draw would simply have been two points too few.

In the closing stages, the hosts stepped it up a gear. Thirteen minutes from the end of normal time, Lee tried his luck from a crowded penalty area, but his effort was blocked and rebounded over the bar (78'). Two minutes later, the South Korea international attempted another shot, this time from 20 yards out after nicking possession in midfield, but the ball flew well over the frame of the goal. Lee came off four minutes later, with Paul Nebel injecting some fresh energy in the final stages (86'). The homegrown talent made an immediate impact: just two minutes after coming on, Nebel delivered a perfectly weighted ball in from the right, but Becker’s side-footed volley narrowly missed the target (88'). At least by the end of four minutes of added time, it was clear that HSV had been more than fortunate to finish the game level with their hosts. First, Heuer Fernandes just got a fingertip to Potulski’s header from a Veratschnig cross and diverted the attempt over the bar, before Nebel’s effort in the dying seconds also went wide (90+5').

After 23 matches played, Mainz sit on 22 points, still in lower mid-table. Next Saturday afternoon sees the 05ers head to Bayer 04 Leverkusen, before hosting VfB Stuttgart at the MEWA ARENA exactly a week later.