Goalless draw in Olomouc

The first leg of the UEFA Conference League round of 16 tie between 1. FSV Mainz 05 and SK Sigma Olomouc was a game with very few chances for either side. A first half with almost nothing to report except a disallowed Silas goal was followed after the break by a serious injury to the striker, which saw him stretchered off the pitch. Both sides were slightly better after half time and Mainz did manage to score another goal, but much like the first, it was immediately disallowed for offside. As a result, neither team managed to gain an advantage going into the second leg in Mainz next Thursday (19th March, 18:45 CET).

Head coach Urs Fischer made three changes to the side that started the game against VfB Stuttgart. Sheraldo Becker, Jae-sung Lee and Silvan Widmer were replaced by Silas, William Bøving and Kacper Potulski.

A first half of few highlights

Both Mainz and the hosts started the game well, however mistakes in the opponent’s final third meant that chances for either side were hard to come by. Nevertheless, both teams showed promise going forwards. 24 minutes in, Paul Nebel turned and laid the ball off to Silas, who slotted it underneath the onrushing goalkeeper. The linesman on the far side raised his flag almost immediately, and after a quick VAR check, the goal was disallowed for an offside in the build-up.

Silas had another good chance a few minutes later, but his header was too central and Jan Koutny in the Olomouc goal had no trouble dealing with it. Not that it would have counted, as the linesman flagged for another offside straight after. Chances were scarce in the first half, with the vast majority of the game being played in the middle of the park. The first half saw four shots in total, none of which caused either goalkeeper any issues. Mainz had the two best chances of the opening period, however both were called offside.

Second half overshadowed by Silas’ injury

The second half began in the same way the first had ended, with both teams struggling to create anything dangerous at the top end of the pitch. Danny da Costa came close for the first time after a Bøving free kick, but he didn’t get the touch he wanted and the ball hit his foot and went out for a goal kick (53’). FSV’s first corner came around the hour mark, as Nebel found da Costa at the back post, who headed straight at the goalkeeper. A couple of minutes later, Silas went down and stayed down, seemingly without any contact from an opponent. The medical staff came onto the pitch and carried the attacker off on a stretcher. Nelson Weiper took his place and Jae-sung Lee was brought on for Bøving (64’). The 05ers did not let this affect them, as Weiper had a great chance to open the scoring, but was denied by the feet of Koutny (78’).

The hosts began to look dangerous as the closing stages began, as Michal Beran picked up a loose clearance and whipped an effort from the edge of the box. Daniel Batz was equal to it and made a fantastic save to tip the ball out for a corner (86’). Then, right before the final whistle, Mainz thought they had won it. Armindo Sieb, who had come on for Phillip Tietz, appeared to score a last-minute winner, however Silvan Widmer was judged to have been in an offside position beforehand (90+6’). The match ended a goalless draw, meaning it’s all to play for in next week’s second leg.

Mainz meet Sigma Olomouc again in a week’s time at the MEWA ARENA, as they look to book their place in the UEFA Conference League quarter-finals. Before that, the 05ers are set to make the trip north to face Werder Bremen in the Bundesliga on Sunday (15:30 CET).