FSV celebrate win in frenzied away game

After a frantic 90 minutes, 1. FSV Mainz 05 came away victorious for the first time this season, winning 3-2 at FC Augsburg on Friday night. The early quick-fire double from Armindo Sieb and Jonny Burkardt was followed by Keven Schlotterbeck’s equaliser and an unnecessary sending off for Nadiem Amiri after just over half an hour. Shortly after the restart, Burkardt scored again, after which Samuel Essende reduced the deficit once more, but he was then shown a straight red card around ten minutes later. Nevertheless, it remained a defensive battle for FSV until the final whistle, which signalled a happy ending for the visitors.

Bo Henriksen made two changes from the side that lost at home to Werder Bremen in the last match. Andreas Hanche-Olsen returned from injury to replace Maxim Leitsch, while Sieb celebrated his first top-flight start, coming in for Jae-sung Lee (thigh knock).

05ers quick-fire double followed by Amiri’s lapse in thought

While Augsburg were more active in the opening minutes, FSV bided their time, not wanting to press too high or take too many risks in the opening phase. The hosts managed their first shot on target after just under six minutes through Ruben Vargas, but the ball sailed over and landed behind the goal. Neither team wanted to give the other the edge early on, but the 05ers decided enough was enough shortly after and struck with their first chance. Mwene played a throw-in from the left to Amiri, who returned the ball to the Austrian, sending him down the left flank towards the baseline, from where he crossed and found Sieb in the centre, whose header from ten yards out left Nediljko Labrovic with no chance (13’). With the lead behind them, Mainz remained on the gas and added another fewer than 180 seconds later. This time, the move started with Dominik Kohr deep in his own half. He found Hyunseok Hong, who passed on to Burkardt, who quickly turned up the pace and fed Mwene on the left. Again, his cross was perfectly placed in front of goal, where the oncoming 05ers’ captain had the sole job of keeping his header down to make it 2-0 (15’). The back-to-back goals seemed to have shocked FCA in the minutes that followed, needing time to shake off after going two behind. Burkardt could even have added to his tally in the 22nd minute, but his shot from 20 yards out sailed over the bar. Augsburg were primarily dangerous from set pieces and were to capitalise from a free-kick on the halfway line shortly afterwards. Marius Wolf lofted the ball to the far post, from where Jeffrey Gouweleeuw headed the ball back into the danger area and Schlotterbeck beat Robin Zentner from close range (25’). The hosts almost went one better just two minutes later, but Zentner got his fingertips to a powerful shot from Vargas to put it out for a corner (27’).

After an eventful opening half-hour, the game momentarily seemed to have settled down a little, but then Amiri came into focus for the wrong reasons. First, Sören Storks booked the Mainz midfielder for dissent (33’), and just two minutes later, the January signing committed a tactical foul in the middle of the pitch, bringing down Vargas. He was shown a second yellow card and sent for an early bath after just 35 minutes. It was a bitter pill for Amiri to swallow, but even more so for his teammates, who were the ones now at a disadvantage. Henriksen’s first move was to bring on Barkok for Sieb, but this did nothing to stop FCA’s forward pressure. FSV survived unscathed until the break through both luck and skill, maintaining a narrow lead going into half-time.

Burkardt stuns Augsburg but the frenzy continues

After a timely whistle for Mainz ended the first period, they returned to the pitch unchanged, while Steve Mounié came on for Maximilan Bauer for the home side at the start of the second half. Jess Thorup switched from a back five to a back four with sights set on a comeback following the restart. However, Henriksen’s compatriot had not counted on Burkardt netting again. In the 49th minute, he latched onto the end of flick-on from Hong after a Barkok cross to restore the two-goal lead from three metres out in the style of a true goalscorer. Naturally, this far from secured victory, as the Mainz legs tired, becoming heavier with every passing minute as they constantly chased the ball. As a result, it seemed all too easy for FCA to reduce the deficit once more just a little later. Dimitrios Giannoulis had far too much space on the left to cross unchallenged and Essende was a touch quicker than Hanche-Olsen in the centre, making it 3-2 with his header after just under an hour (57’). FSV then had to survive a series of scares, although Augsburg were unable to really make their chances count. The hosts’ frustration only grew and it was the latest goalscorer who it got all too much for in the 68th minute. His challenge on Kohr in the Mainz penalty area earned him a straight red from referee Storks following a VAR review. For the final 20 minutes, both sides had just nine outfield players.

The hosts continued to set the tone. Maxim Leitsch came on in the 60th minute to reinforce the Mainz defence with Kohr moving into the centre of midfield. Burkardt acted as the lone striker, repeatedly trying to relieve some pressure for his team. FSV remained largely passive in this final phase, focusing on defending their narrow lead. They largely managed to do so without any major scares in front of Zentner’s goal, although in the final minute he did have to produce some of his best work. Mounié tried his luck from 16 yards and forced the FSV number one into another brilliant save (90’). This was followed by six minutes of stoppage time, which included a real nail-biting moment. In what really was the final second of the game, Schlotterbeck went down in the penalty area following a challenge with substitute Silvan Widmer, leading to Storks pointing to the spot. It took more than five minutes for the referee’s decision to be overturned after review. In actuality, the Augsburg player had stepped over the ball before going to ground far too theatrically. It was to be the last moment of note in a crazy encounter in which the 05ers were ultimately lucky to come away with three points, taking their tally to five after four matchdays.

Next Saturday afternoon, FSV host 1. FC Heidenheim when they will be aiming for home win number one at the third time of asking.