Mainz draw third game in a row

1. FSV Mainz shared the points for their third match in a row on Sunday evening. Just like in the previous two stalemates, the 05ers left the pitch knowing that they could have come away with more than a draw. FSV took the lead thanks to another goal from Jonny Burkardt, but failed to kick on and extend their advantage. After a couple of spectacular saves from Robin Zentner, Mainz’s luck ran out and Tim Kleindienst scored a richly deserved equaliser for the hosts. Mainz can take one positive from the game at the Voith-Arena, however, as Nelson Weiper made his first appearance for the 05ers in more than half a year after coming off the bench for the final 15 minutes.

Bo Henriksen was forced into making a number of changes to the starting XI as a result of injuries and suspensions. Edimilson Fernandes, club captain Silvan Widmer, Jae-sung Lee and Ludovic Ajorque all came into the side, replacing Phillipp Mwene, Nadiem Amiri, Brajan Gruda and Karim Onisiwo. Ajorque led the line for Mainz, with Edimilson playing in front of the defence and Dominik Kohr shifting into central midfield. Widmer filled in at right-back, meaning Anthony Caci started the match at on the left side of defence.

Burkardt opens the scoring from Caci’s cross

It was an even start to the encounter, with Mainz having a slight edge over the hosts. The first chance fell to Heidenheim, however. Eren Dinkci found himself in acres of space around 20 yards out and got a shot off, but Zentner punched his effort away from danger (11’). FCH started to gradually grow into the game and limited the new-look 05ers to playing in their own half for a decent stretch of the first half. As passive as Mainz were at this stage of the game, they managed to flip the game on its head and carve out a chance to take the lead. Widmer found space down the right wing and whipped a ball into the box from the byline. His cross found Lee, but the Korean international was unable to get a good connection on his header, which trickled harmlessly past the opposition goal (18’). It was shaping up to be a clash between two well-drilled defensive units who were wary of taking any unnecessary risks. The next Heidenheim opportunity arose after around half an hour of play following a botched Mainz clearance. Tim Kleindienst pounced on the error, but he failed to capitalise and his attempt went just off-target. Up to that point, Mainz had had more chances and the lion’s share of possession, but FCH looked more likely to break the deadlock. Heidenheim keeper Kevin Müller was only truly called into action in the 36th minute. The ball looped up into the air following a free-kick from Edimilson and Sepp van den Berg flicked it on towards goal, but his header didn’t cause any real problems for Müller. FSV kept turning up the heat and were letting the ball do the talking in the middle of the park. Caci eventually broke free on the left-hand side of the pitch and put a lovely cross into the box. Burkardt busted a gut to reach the ball in time and poked it home from close range to give the 05ers the lead (37’). The scoreline remained the same up until the half-time whistle, as Mainz headed into the dressing room with a one-goal advantage.

Mainz punished for passivity

Both teams emerged unchanged from the tunnel for the start of the second 45. Mainz looked to compound the hosts’ misery and had the chance to extend their lead four minutes after the restart. Burkardt’s cross found Ajorque, whose textbook turn allowed him to get a shot off. His strike took a deflection off a defender at the last moment, however, which prevented Mainz from adding to their lead (49’). Müller had his defence to thank on that occasion, while Robin Zentner had to show his class to keep his side ahead five minutes later. A deft pass over the top from Kleindienst put Dinkci one-on-one with FSV’s number one, who managed to claw the attacker’s attempted lob away from the goal with his fingertips after rushing out and making himself as big as possible. The match looked to be developing into a back-and-forth contest, but the 05ers became too passive. Heidenheim did not need a second invitation and hit back with an equaliser just after the hour mark. Kleindienst sprinted into the box to meet Omar Traoré’s cross and Zentner was powerless to stop his bullet header from finding the back of the net (65’).

The equaliser seemed to tip the balance of the game in the home side’s favour, as they created a number of threats down the flanks. The ball was at Traoré’s feet again in the 70th minute and  FCH’s number 23 had all the time in the world to put a cross in towards Patrick Mainka. Fortunately for FSV, the defender’s header rattled the woodwork. Change was obviously needed and Henriksen made a couple of alterations after the scare, with Danny da Costa and Tom Krauß replacing Widmer and Ajorque (71’). FCH were regularly quicker to react and latch onto loose balls. Zentner was kept very busy during this phase of the match, as he had to make a fingertip save to deny Jan-Niklas Beste’s curler from nestling in the bottom corner. Nelson Weiper replaced Edimilson with 15 minutes to go in the second half and Mainz would have a huge chance to put themselves back in front shortly afterwards. All of a sudden, Jonny Burkardt found himself one-on-one with Müller. The goalscorer tried to round the hosts’ keeper, but Müller did just enough to knock him off course. Burkardt managed to keep the chance alive, however, but Lee was unable to connect with his ball back into the middle. What had once been an attritional clash was now an increasingly open encounter, as both sides pushed for a win. The chances started to dry up as the game wore on, though another chance would fall to Burkardt, whose shot was saved by Müller with two minutes of normal time remaining. Mainz would get one more opportunity to come away with all three points. Danny da Costa floated a ball in towards Weiper, who just could not get enough power or direction on his header and watched it balloon harmlessly over the bar (90+1’). In the dying seconds of the match, things almost took a turn for the worse, with Stephan Schimmer hitting the bar after yet another cross from Troaoré. The referee blew the final whistle shortly afterwards, confirming that the sides would come away from the clash at the Voith-Arena with a point apiece.

The 05ers have 29 points to their name after 32 games, which is one fewer than fifteenth-placed Union Berlin. Mainz will host Borussia Dortmund at the MEWA ARENA next Saturday (18:30 CEST).

FCH - FSV 1-1 (0-1)

Heidenheim: Müller - Traoré, Mainka, Gimber, Föhrenbach - Schöppner Dinkci, Sessa (80‘ Thomalla), Beste - Pieringer (68‘ Dovedan), Kleindienst (85‘ Schimmer)
Mainz 05: Zentner - Widmer (71‘ da Costa), Hanche-Olsen, van den Berg, Edimilson (75‘ Weiper), Caci - Kohr, Barreiro - Burkardt, Ajorque (71‘ Krauß), Lee (88‘ Ngankam)

Goals: 0-1 Burkardt (37‘), 1-1 Kleindienst (65‘)

Attendance: 15,000
Referee: Sven Jablonski