05ers book their spot in UECL round of 16

Composed and in control for virtually the whole 90 minutes – that’s how one could describe 1. FSV Mainz 05’s performance on Thursday, as they secured qualification for the UEFA Conference League round of 16 in March. A 2-0 win over Turkish side Samsunspor thanks to goals either side of the break from Silvan Widmer and Nadiem Amiri from the penalty spot were enough to book the 05ers their spot in next year’s knockout phase. Mainz finish the league phase in sixth place with an impressive 13 points from six games, therefore avoiding two extra playoff games in February.

Urs Fischer made six changes from the side that started the draw against Bayern München. Dominik Kohr, Silvan Widmer, Paul Nebel, Nadiem Amiri, Andreas Hanche-Olsen and Nelly Weiper started in place of Stefan Bell, Sota Kawasaki, Lennard Maloney, Nikki Veratschnig, William Bøving and Benedict Hollerbach.

Skipper Silvan strikes before half time

Both sides took the opening exchanges to work each other out, as there wasn’t a whole host of chances, but the hosts did establish a clear dominance within the first ten minutes. FSV had the first two chances, with Amiri back at his dazzling best, as he made his return from a muscular issue. Weiper and Lee combined before the ball found Mainz’s midfield maestro, whose close-range effort was blocked (11’). Just three minutes later, Amiri tried again from a free kick won by Nebel 20 yards out, however, it didn’t trouble Okan Kocuk in the visitors’ goal. Despite the home side’s dominance, it was quite apparent that the Turkish side, particularly through their quick players, would always pose a threat. They counterattacked in the 24th minute through Anthony Musaba, who found an unmarked Carlo Holse, but Daniel Batz was there to make a fantastic reflex save. The rebound fell back to Holse, who struck one of his own teammates in an offside position in front of an open goal. The game opened up a little afterwards, with the 05ers looking the more likely to score. Widmer had an effort cleared off the line on the half-hour mark following an Amiri cross. Seconds later, Kocuk made a fantastic save to deny a deflected Amiri attempt (30’).

It certainly wasn’t a boring game inside the sold-out MEWA ARENA, as both sides knew they needed three points for automatic qualification to the round of 16. There was a brief break in the action, before Mainz struck in the 44th minute. Weiper nodded it down to Lee, who then released Widmer down the left-hand side. Mainz’s captain drove into the penalty area and finished precisely to give the hosts a deserved lead. The 05ers took that lead with them into the break.

Amiri ice-cold

Neither side made a change as they came back out for the second half. It didn’t take long after the restart for the first bit of action, as a Jae-sung Lee cross was judged to have struck the arm of Rick van Drongelen, with referee Mohammed Al-Emara wasting no time in pointing to the spot. The outstanding Amiri made no mistake and coolly converted his spot kick. Mainz now had one foot in the round of 16 and were determined to seal the win. Lee broke down the left and squared it to Amiri, who fired his effort just wide (50’). Four minutes later, Amiri returned the favour with a wonderful chipped through ball, but Lee couldn’t keep his shot down. The match was then paused for a moment while pyrotechnics thrown by the away fans were cleared from the pitch. This did nothing to help their side, who offered almost nothing in front of the Mainz goal.

Hollerbach entered the fray after 69 minutes, coming on for Weiper. Nine minutes later, with FSV still in complete control, Bøving replaced goalscorer Widmer. A third Mainz goal seemed a whole lot more likely than a comeback from the Turkish side, with the visitors looking like they had accepted their fate. FSV managed the game expertly and gave their opponents nothing. Maloney and Fabio Moreno Fell were given a run-out in stoppage time, coming on for Lee and Amiri. Hollerbach could have added a third, after a counterattack involving Moreno and Nebel, but he leaned too far back and his shot sailed over (90+3’).

The 05ers don’t have much time to celebrate this latest European success, as they have another, more important challenge to face. St. Pauli will make the trip to the MEWA ARENA on Sunday (15:30 CET), for a real fight between two sides who desperately need Bundesliga points.