FSV secure a point in Bochum thanks to a last-minute goal from Krauß

1. FSV Mainz 05 secured a point in the final seconds of their bottom of the table clash away at VfL Bochum on Friday evening. Mainz were disappointing in the first half and fell behind as Kevin Stöger put the hosts ahead from the penalty spot. FSV picked themselves up after the break, levelling things up through an own goal from Keven Schlotterbeck, before probing for a second goal, but it was Schlotterbeck, of all people, who seemed to have scored the decisive goal for his side, netting a header from a corner in the closing stages of the game. However, Tom Krauß then scored deep into injury time as his deflected strike from 18 yards nestled in the corner of Bochum’s goal, securing Mainz a point away from home. 

Bo Svensson made two changes to his starting eleven from the defeat against FC Bayern, replacing Edimilson Fernandes and Jae-sung Lee with ex-Bochum player Maxim Leitsch and Karim Onisiwo. 

Bochum on the front foot in a heated clash

The game got off to a lively start in front of a sold-out home crowd. Robin Zentner was called into action for the first time in the third minute as Bernardo found himself unmarked with time to shoot in the centre of Mainz’s box following a Bochum free-kick, forcing FSV’s keeper into a brilliant save. The atmosphere in the stands matched the intensity of the game in the opening minutes, with both sides’ fans in fine voice. Brajan Gruda set off on his first solo run after approximately nine minutes and fell to the ground in the penalty area, but referee Patrick Ittrich deemed that Bernardo had got a touch on the ball before making contact with the Mainz academy graduate’s foot. The intensity remained high in the following stages, whilst both teams also made plenty of errors. Goalmouth action was a rarity in the opening stages, with the next noteworthy action somewhat unsurprisingly coming from a set-piece. Keven Schlotterbeck whipped a corner into the penalty area and Danny da Costa attempted to clear a completely harmless ball, however he caught his opponent on the foot, with Ittrich awarding a penalty after consulting the Video Assistant Referee. Ex-Mainz player Stöger stepped up to take the penalty, sending Zentner the wrong way and putting Bochum ahead (21’). FSV appeared to be affected by Bochum’s goal and struggled to get back into the game after falling behind. VfL won the more second balls and Mainz lacked creativity going forwards, meaning that Bochum were fully deserving of their lead after half an hour despite not playing brilliantly themselves. Svensson reacted for the first time in the 33rd minute, bringing on Tom Krauß for Dominik Kohr, who was in danger of picking up a second yellow card, and replacing Bell with Lee after he had received a blow to the head. At the same time, the Dane switched to a back four, but things didn’t get any better before half-time. After all, Mainz went into the break a few minutes later without having registered a single shot on target. 

The 05ers find a way back into the game and equalise, but Bochum strike back

Svensson made his third change of the game as the second half got underway, bringing Aymen Barkok on in place of Ludovic Ajorque. The 05ers then registered their first effort at goal 120 seconds after the interval as Onisiwo tried his luck from the edge of the box, but he didn’t strike the ball cleanly (48’). Bochum had celebrated going 2-0 up shortly before, but Moritz Broschinski was just offside (47’). However, FSV were now able to match their opponents, showing their willingness to fight and looking more threatening going forwards. Nevertheless, it took a slice of luck for them to find the equaliser shortly before the hour mark. A Gruda corner found its way to Anthony Caci, who was lurking outside the area, and he sent the ball back towards the goal, where Barkok’s flick came off Schlotterbeck’s leg and rolled over the line, making it 1-1 (59’). Mainz were quite fortunate to be back on level terms given the opening 45 minutes, but they were now right in the game. Da Costa had the chance to make it 2-1 after 63 minutes with a volley, but his effort went well wide of the target. VfL needed a few minutes to compose themselves after the equaliser, but it wasn’t long before they began to push to retake the lead. The recently introduced Philipp Hoffman turned Caci after getting on the end of a ball into the box, but Zentner was once again on hand to make a brilliant reaction save, denying the substitute from four yards out (69’).

The 05ers’ head coach made his fourth alteration with 15 minutes remaining as Josuha Guilavogui made his competitive debut for FSV. The summer signing replaced Gruda, who had run himself into the ground, with Mainz reverting to a back five once again (75’). Barkok then had the chance to put Mainz ahead a minute later, but his shot from 18 yards with the outside of his foot was straight at Riemann (76’). Of all people, it was the man who scored the own goal who put VfL back on course for victory a few minutes later as he headed home from Stöger’s corner. Zentner managed to get a hand to his headed effort and turned the ball onto the woodwork, but it bounced over the line off the inside of the post (82’). FSV were now running out of time. It was once again Barkok who tried his luck in the 89th minute as he lined up an effort from 17 yards, but his attempt was once again straight at Riemann in Bochum’s goal. The allotted five minutes of additional time had already elapsed when Bochum cleared a Mainz free-kick into the box, but the ball found its way to Krauß via Onisiwo, and his goal in the dying seconds provoked wild celebrations amongst the 05ers and their travelling fans (90+6’). 

Despite picking up a point, the 05ers remain bottom of the table after nine games and now face a midweek challenge in the DFB-Pokal. Mainz are the visitors at Hertha BSC in the second round on Wednesday evening, before taking on Leipzig three days later in the league at the MEWA ARENA.

VFL BOCHUM 2-2 MAINZ 05 

Line-ups:

VfL: Riemann - Gamboa, Ordets (33’ Masovic), Schlotterbeck (84’ Loosli), Bernardo, Danilo Soares - Losilla, Stöger, Förster (67’ Hofmann) - Asano (85’ Daschner), Broschinski (67’ Paciencia)
 
FSV: Zentner - da Costa, van den Berg (87’ Edimilson), Bell (33’ Lee), Leitsch, Caci - Kohr (33’ Krauß), Barreiro - Gruda (75’ Guilavogui), Onisiwo, Ajorque (46’ Barkok)

Goals: 1-0 Stöger (21’, Penalty), 1-1 Schlotterbeck (59’, Own goal), 2-1 Schlotterbeck (82’), 2-2 Krauß (90+6’)

Attendance: 26,000