On Sunday afternoon, 1. FSV Mainz 05 earned their eighth point on the road this season when they faced SC Freiburg in their fourth away match. The 05ers gave an overall convincing display and could even have secured the three points with a little more luck in one or two situations in and around the hosts’ penalty area.
Bo Henriksen made three changes from Wednesday’s exit from the DFB-Pokal. While Stefan Bell replaced Moritz Jenz in the centre of defence due to a thigh injury, Jae-sung Lee and Jonny Burkardt returned to the front three, with Armindo Sieb moving to the bench and Gabriel Vidovic left out of the squad.
Chances scarce but not for lack of trying
The opening phase of the match was characterised by high intensity and scuffles over second balls; however, little occurred in either penalty area early on. The home side started to look like scoring only in the 20th minute when Vincenzo Grifo sent a half-cleared corner ball back towards goal. Lukas Kübler flicked the delivery on with his head but was unable to find a teammate at the far post. Up to this point, the teams had been on an equal footing, supported by the statistics with just under half of the first period played. Neither team boasted the advantage in terms of attempts on goal, pass completion rate or possession. Freiburg then turned up the intensity and had their first shot on target through Grifo, although Robin Zentner comfortably made the save (26’). FSV then surprised their opponents on the counter-attack when Paul Nebel set up Anthony Caci with a stylish pass, but, with a clear path towards goal, he was unable to control the ball at full sprint, allowing Christian Günter the chance to clear on the edge of the box (27’). The following corner then led to the first big chance of the game. Kaishu Sano flicked on Amiri’s ball in across the six-yard box where Burkardt rushed onto it at the far post but was decisively prevented from making a connection by Kübler (28’). The chances were now becoming more clear-cut and, after around 34 minutes, the home side’s quick interplay nearly bore fruit. Eren Dinkci played a fine pass in behind the defence for strike partner Junior Adamu to latch onto. His second touch was a fierce low strike on goal, but he saw his effort also denied by a superb save with the feet from Zentner. There was little further action in front of goal before the break, though. With 45 minutes gone, the hosts had just about edged it, but a level score line seemed fair on the whole as the sides headed for the locker rooms.
Burkardt makes way before Amiri is kept out by Atubolu
After Henriksen had already announced ahead of the clash that Burkardt would be unable to complete 90 minutes, Mainz’s top scorer this season came off at half-time to be replaced by Sieb for the second period. The opening minutes after the restart saw the 05ers initially sitting deeper, although they were to have the first opportunity after a good transition up the pitch. Sieb had driven forward with the ball and fed Nebel, but his cut-back was defended at first before Lee fed Caci, whose first-time shot from 20 yards out drew a first save of the afternoon for Noah Atubolu. Shortly afterwards, it was Maximilian Eggestein’s turn to try his luck for the more confident looking home side from an acute angle. His shot was however deflected wide by Kohr (57’). Mainz remained very much present in the contest and continued to make forays forward. After just under an hour, Lee regained possession in the middle of the park, with the ball then finding Phillipp Mwene before Sieb and then Amiri, who aimed his strike at the near post from 18 yards out, but Kübler’s deflection diverted the ball and forced his goalkeeper into a brilliant save (60’).
While both teams kept working hard in the hope of taking the lead, it became even clearer that an opening goal might just decide this hard-fought encounter. After 74 minutes, Amiri, who was carrying a slight knock going into the match, had been playing through the pain until he was replaced by Hyunseok Hong for the final quarter of an hour. Neither team seemed willing or able to take any real risks after they both took part in energy-sapping midweek cup clashes. Another threat on the Freiburg goal arrived after 85 minutes though when Kohr returned a defended delivery back into the centre, where Sieb got his foot to it, only to see his effort trickle half a yard wide of goal. It was the last noteworthy offensive action of a match that entertained solely due to tension and a host of tough tackles. In addition to the satisfaction gained by earning a point away to the side sitting sixth in the table, Mainz and their more than 2,200 travelling fans can take the knowledge home with them that they are incredibly difficult to beat on the road.
FSV take to the pitch again in six days time, when they host Borussia Dortmund at the MEWA ARENA in the prime time Saturday slot.