2-1 friendly victory over Feyenoord

FSV Mainz 05 claimed a 2-1 victory over Dutch giants Feyenoord in a friendly on Saturday afternoon, as preparations for the second half of the season stepped up a notch. The match took place in front of 500 spectators at the Marbella Football Center, with goals coming courtesy of Jonny Burkardt and Silvan Widmer. 

“I’m pleased with a few things,” said Jan Siewert after full time. “You could see a lot of our fundamental principles in play against strong opposition. Defending high up the pitch, pressing high, being willing to close down spaces and executing good counter-attacking moves from that. I knew the players were going to be slightly fatigued, and we could have played out a few opportunities a bit better or perhaps more calmly. Had we done that, we might have won by a greater margin. But overall, I’m happy,” added the Mainz head coach.

High pressing on both sides

Head coach Jan Siewert opted not to select a potential starting XI for next Saturday’s home game against VfL Wolfsburg at the MEWA ARENA (13th January, 15:30 CET), the first game back in the Bundesliga after the winter break. This was because the game consisted of two sixty-minute halves, and Siewert wanted to ensure all players got an appropriate amount of game time. Dominik Kohr had already left the camp early due to personal reasons, Andreas Hanche-Olsen is still completing an individual training programme, and Joshua Guilavogui was still recovering from a knock, meaning all three were absent from the friendly.

Both teams began by executing concentrated pressing and counter-pressing strategies. The first chance of the game fell to the Eredivisie’s second-placed team, as Quinten Timber found himself free in front of goal from thirteen yards out, but his effort flashed past the left post (8’). It took the Zerofivers some time to organise their attacking play, particularly because their opposition transitioned from a 4-3-3 to a compact 4-5-1 out of possession. Brajan Gruda showed promising signs early on. He was played through on the right flank, crossed into the middle with his left foot, and picked out Merveille Papela, whose header flew just over the bar (18’). Feyenoord came even closer at the other end of the pitch when they were allowed all the space to cross it in, Santiago Gimenez tried his luck with a header from close range and was only denied by a stunning reaction save from Robin Zentner (21’).

Onisiwo sets up two goals

Mainz then went on to take the lead. The ball was shifted over from right to left, and then Karim Onisiwo was found with a neat pass. The Austrian dribbled through and put in a perfect cross with his left foot to find Jonny Burkardt, who headed in with ease to make it 1-0 (26’). It was his first goal in a game of football after a year out through injury.

Burkardt nearly went on to make it two, after Feyenoord keeper Timon Wellenreuther presented the ball to the attacker after spilling a catch, but he recovered to make the stop from Burkardt’s attempt (41’). The next counter was to bring the second goal, however. The counter began with even numbers on each side, but the Zerofivers’ full-backs got forward quicker than their Feyenoord counterparts could retreat. Phillip Mwene crossed it in, and Karim Onisiwo laid it off to Silvan WIdmer, who scored via a slight deflection to make it 2-0 (49’).

Zerofivers withstand the second 60 minutes to secure the win

The second half brought several personnel changes to the Mainz team, as the Dutch side took control of the game. Mainz tried to defend their opposition’s attacks, finding themselves defending deeper into their own half. This meant that their counterattacks had to start from deep. Feyenoord had two good chances to get a goal back, but Antoni Milambos’ shot went wide of the goal (69’) and Daniel Batz made a great save to deny Gjivai Zechiel’s from the edge of the box (80’).

Even after the second drinks break (90’), the game continued to take place primarily in the Mainz half. The Zerofivers did create two opportunities of their own, however, with Tim Müller missing the target (93’) and Ludovic Ajorque forcing the Feyenoord keeper into a good save (113’). Thomas van den Belt’s long-range strike made it 2-1 in between those two chances (109’), which meant the focus turned to defending the narrow lead, and the Zerofivers were able to see out the victory. 

1. FSV MAINZ 05 vs. FEYENOORD – 2-1

Mainz 05 (first 60 minutes): Zentner – Widmer, Wilhelm, v. d. Berg, Caci, Mwene – Krauß, Papela – Burkardt, Onisiwo, Gruda

Mainz 05 (second 60 minutes): Batz (90’ Rieß) – da Costa, Wilhelm (78’ Fernandes), v. d. Berg (90’ Leitsch), Caci (90’ Mamutovic), Gleiber – Krauß (78’ Barreiro), Papela (T. Müller) – Richter, Ajorque, M. Müller (90’ Barkok)

Feyenoord Rotterdam (first 60 minutes): Wellenreuther – Geertruida, Trauner, Hancko, Hartman – Stengs, Wiefer, Timber – Dilrosun, Gimenez, Ivanusec

Feyenoord Rotterdam (second 60 minutes): Lamprou – Nieuwkoop (106’ Slory), Beelen, Lopez, Read – Milambo, Zechiel, v. d. Belt – Paixao, Lingr, Sauer

Goals: 1-0 Burkardt (26’), 2-0 Widmer (49’), 2-1 v. d. Belt (109’)

Attendance: 500 (Marbella Football Center)