FSV overcome Wiesbaden after extra time

1. FSV Mainz 05 were eventually able to overcome third-tier side Wehen Wiesbaden in a 3-1 victory, after 120 hard-fought minutes. They will progress to the second round following a proper cup clash. The early Wiesbaden lead came out of the blue through Tarik Gözüsirin, after the visitors had dominated the opening exchanges. However, FSV’s longstanding pressure led to Dominik Kohr responding just before the hour, drawing the side level. In extra time, it was captain Jonny Burkardt who completed the turnaround, before Nadiem Amiri netted the third late on to underline a deserved victory. 

After the transfer of Brajan Gruda during the week, Bo Henriksen had to make a change from the side he fielded against Montpellier in the final pre-season fixture. Summer signing Armindo Sieb replaced the Premier League-bound Mainz academy graduate in the starting line-up. 

FSV dominant but Wiesbaden score

The opening minutes should have belonged to the visitors, with the first shot coming through Sieb after only 40 seconds, but it went well wide from the edge of the penalty area. They came much closer only a few moments later though, as Nadiem Amiri found captain Jonny Burkardt with a precise pass. The attacker then sent Kaishu Sano on his way to goal, but he failed to beat SVWW captain Florian Stritzel in goal from an acute angle (7’). In the early stages, it seemed to be only a matter of time before FSV would take the lead against the hosts who were initially only looking to counter-attack. However, it was not to be a foregone conclusion, as the third-division side defended passionately and threw themselves into every shot and every cross. The more sophisticated style of play, including more than 70% possession after just under 15 minutes, bore little fruit. Especially since the team from Hesse turned the game on its head in the 14th minute. Three times, the 05ers’ defence was too inconsistent in clearing harmless crosses and Wiesbaden continued to try their luck until the ball landed at the feet of Gözüsirin, who gave Robin Zentner no chance from 11 yards out, putting Mainz 1-0 down. It was an avoidable goal, and the 05ers side took a long time to dust themselves off and get back into the game afterwards. Their threat only appeared again after just under half an hour, when the 05ers managed a quick counter-attack. Sieb broke through on the right and drove the ball low and hard into the middle, where Burkardt only missed it by about half a yard (30’).

It remained that way until the break in an encounter that had become a really tough affair for FSV after being the better side in the opening phase. The third-division team’s fortunate half-time lead, was not completely undeserved however. Especially since Zentner had to show all his class against Moritz Flotho in the second minute of stoppage time, denying the attacker's header from nine yards with his fingertips (45+2’). 

Kohr grabs the equaliser

Neither side made a change at the break, but unlike in the first half, the hosts started the second period much better. The favourites continued to struggle and initially only had a half-chance through Burkardt, who could only hit the side-netting (49’). Slowly but surely, Mainz regained their advantage and pressed for their first competitive goal of the season, which finally arrived in the 59th minute. After winning the ball around 30 yards from the Wiesbaden goal, Amiri fed Lee on the edge of the box, who laid the ball off to the advancing Kohr, who coolly equalised from the right-hand side of the penalty area. Shortly afterwards, Stritzel prevented Mainz from scoring a quick-fire second, after Mwene broke through following a one-two with Sieb and had shot on the volley. However, he was denied by the Wehen keeper's reflex save (63’). It remained a tense affair as the hosts once again attempted to create more going forward, but they could not conjure up more than a series of corners between the 65th and 70th minute. It was during this phase that Henriksen made his first changes, bringing on Paul Nebel and Karim Onisiwo after 68 minutes in place of Mwene and Sieb to add further attacking potential.

New signing Sano came close to giving Mainz the lead late on, striking the ball first time after receiving it from Lee, but a defender got his head in the way (80’). Shortly after that, Nikolas Veratschnig replaced Anthony Caci to make his competitive debut in Mainz colours. The experienced Stefan Bell then came on five minutes later for Maxim Leitsch in the heart of the defence. The 05ers were clearly desperate to avoid extra time, but still had to be careful of leaving themselves too open at the back from Wehen counter-attacks. Neither side could find a way through to goal in the closing stages of normal time, including five minutes added on, and it therefore meant another half an hour of play.

The first dangerous moment at either end in extra time came in the 101st minute. A corner from Amiri found Bell in the middle and his header hit the post. The fact that both teams were struggling physically wasn’t particularly surprising so early on in the campaign and this meant that chances were at a premium. Onisiwo had a shot blocked (109’) and Hanche-Olsen managed to clear the ball and deny Antonio Jonjic an opportunity at the other end (110’). Mainz took the lead for the first time with seven minutes left to play in extra time. Wiesbaden’s Florian Carstens couldn’t properly deal with a long ball and this allowed Onisiwo to race in behind. Carstens did get back in time with a slide tackle to prevent the Austrian from shooting, however this teed it up perfectly for Burkardt and his first-time shot made it 2-1. Nick Bätzner tried his luck from distance for the hosts with three minutes to go, but Zentner was able to divert it wide for a corner. Amiri sealed the victory in injury time after an assist from Nebel to delight of the 5,000 away fans in the stadium.

WEHEN WIESBADEN - MAINZ 05 1-3

FSV: Zentner - Caci (81’ Veratschnig), Kohr, Leitsch (86’ Bell), Hanche-Olsen, Mwene (68’ Nebel) - Amiri, Sano - Sieb (68’ Onisiwo), Burkardt, Lee (111’ Weiper)

Goals: 1-0 Gözüsirin (14’), 1-1 Kohr (59’), 1-2 Burkardt (113’), 1-3 Amiri (120’+2)

Attendance: 15,295
Officials: Richard Hempel (Tobias Schultes, Daniel Bartnitzki, Fabian Maibaum)