Narrow defeat in friendly against Besiktas

The first game of 1. FSV Mainz 05’s pre-season training camp in Grassau saw them take on Besiktas in a hard-fought 90 minutes at Kufstein’s Grenzlandstadion where the Turkish giants came away 1-0 winners thanks to a goal from Cenk Tosun midway through the first half. Following a strong start from the Zerofivers, the Istanbul-based side grew into the game.

Following friendlies against 1. FC Kiedrich and Wormatia Worms, Friday evening saw the first of three international friendlies over the next two weeks. The Mainz players who had extended summer breaks due to international football in June all started the game on the bench but were able to take part in portions later on.

The game was highly competitive from the off, and Bo Svensson’s side had the better chances – Marcus Ingvartsen and Edimilson Fernandes both came close in the first three minutes, but Besiktas ‘keeper Ersin Destanoglu saved well from the Dane before Fernandes’ rebound was blocked. The Zerofivers played well with some good football on show, but there was a lack of precision when it mattered.

Tosun scores the winner with bolt from the blue

Cenk Tosun netted the first goal for the Turkish side with their first chance. A well-weighted through-ball found the Turkish international in the inside right channel, where he hammered the ball first-time past the to-that-point untroubled Finn Dahmen and into the far corner (24’). Dahmen was called into action by Tosun later in the half, too, as he denied the striker’s powerful header from six yards with a fine reflex stop (43’).

The 16-time Turkish champions also created the first chance of the second half, as a mistake from Fernandes allowed Tyler Boyd in, but Dahmen flew off his line to prevent the danger (52’). New Besiktas striker Wout Weghorst then had several chances as Besiktas gained a bit of control in a feisty game, as he missed from inside the penalty area before substitute goalkeeper Lasse Rieß denied him (68’, 71’). Mainz dug deep and looked for an equaliser, but headers from Merveille Papela and Maxim Leitsch were nothing doing, just like Anton Stach’s late free-kick. Despite the lack of precision up top, likely caused by the tough training camp, the Zerofivers were well-concentrated at the back against Valérien Ismael’s side and came away with their heads held high.

Up next for Bo Svensson’s team is a friendly on Monday against Newcastle United (16:00 CEST), before they return to the MEWA ARENA to face Athletic Bilbao (23/07). The competitive season begins the following weekend as the Zerofivers travel to face Erzgebirge Aue in the DFB-Pokal first round.

Mainz 05 0-1 Besiktas Istanbul

FSV first half: Dahmen – Aarón, Lucoqui, Bell, Hack, Kraft – Fernandes, Papela, Shabani – Ingvartsen, Mustapha

FSV second half: Dahmen (65′ Rieß) – Lucoqui, Leitsch, Bell (65′ Bell), Papela, Kraft – Fernandes (65′ Barreiro), Kohr, Shabani (65′ Stach) – Bobzien, Mizuta

Goals: Tosun 0-1 (24′)

Attendance: Around 1500