Strong second half – Mainz defeat Wormatia Worms

Four second half goals saw 1. FSV Mainz 05 win 4-0 against fourth-tier side Wormatia Worms in Guntersblum in their second friendly of pre-season. After a first half that saw the Bundesliga side make little headway going forward, a much-changed line-up for the second half grabbed a deserved win after half time thanks to goals from Ben Bobzien, Marlon Mustapha, Danny Schmidt and Dominik Kohr.

There was reason to be cheerful for Mainz fans at the home ground of SV 1921 Guntersblum even before kick-off: Delano Burgzorg was named in the starting line-up and was set to make his return to football after a spell of three months on the sidelines, brought about by a a heart muscle inflammation following a Coronavirus infection. The Dutchman, who found the back of the net once in the Bundesliga since the start of his loan move, was in fine form on his return, demanding possession often and looking to set up chances for his teammates. The first decent chance came from U23 loan player Kaito Mizuta early on but went over the bar (8′), before Marcus Ingvartsen put an attempt wide five minutes later after a deflected Burgzorg cross from the right.

The Regionalliga side couldn’t really get a foothold in the Mainz half and the only half chance fell to Köksal, who shot from 20 metres but did not test Finn Dahmen. Merveille Papela almost took the league shortly before the break (41′) after another Burgzorg cross but his effort was blocked b a defender. Therefore, the first half ended goalless.

Svensson made eleven changes for the second half and saw a more determined performance from his team that made an impact early on. Just two minutes into he half, Bobzien was brought down in the area but Mustapha was unable to convert from the penalty spot. Two minutes later, Bobzien found the back of the net himself to open the scoring (49′). The goal opened the floodgates somewhat for Mainz who then doubled the lead a few minutes later. Mustapha received a long ball from Niklas Tauer, rounded the goalkeeper and slotted in from a narrow angle (53′).

The early double blow put the game beyond doubt and Wormatia could only create one more chance to get on the scoresheet themselves. However, substitute goalkeeper Lasse Rieß was on hand to save and deny the opposition a goal on the counter (63′). At the other end, Kohr came close to the third goal in the 67th minute but couldn’t make best use of Bobzien’s ball. Danny Schmidt was the one who finally made it three in the 76th minute when he found the far corner. The final goal of the game was then scored by Kohr when he headed in from Keanu Kraft’s cross.

Head coach Svensson said after the game: “There were several things missing in the first half. After the break, we played the way we wanted to. You could see that you always need to play with depth in your attack in order to get behind the defence. We didn’t have that before half time because all the players just matched their man and you don’t really get into any dangerous areas. We did that better after the break. However, what’s also important is that we came through the first few weeks of pre-season without any injuries, and that’s where we focused on physical work. Of course we have some tactical readjustments to make, and we will do that when the international players are here.”