Despite taking the lead twice in the final ten minutes, Mainz had to ultimately settle for a draw against Werder Bremen on Saturday afternoon. It was a relatively uneventful affair at the MEWA ARENA but the game sprang to life in the final stages. Ludovic Ajorque gave FSV the lead (85’) before Werder responded just moments later through Jens Stage (87’). Nelson Weiper looked to have given the Zerofivers all three points with his goal in stoppage time (90+3) but Germany international Niclas Füllkrug popped up in the dying moments to break Mainz hearts (90+5).
Bo Svensson named an unchanged XI from the side that faced Leipzig last time out. Karim Onisiwo returned to the squad and replaced Maxim Leitsch on the bench.
Buoyant Mainz take on aggressive Werder
The Zerofivers made a bright start to the game and looked to put pressure on their opponents by exploiting the wide areas. Both sides, however, failed to create anything clear-cut in the opening stages as a tight contest ensued. The first real chance of the contest came in the 17th minute when Dominik Kohr tested Jiri Pavlenka, before Marcus Ingvartsen tried his luck just moments later (18’). Bremen then came close courtesy of a Niclas Füllkrug volley, but Robin Zentner was up to the test (21’). The visitors looked to be aggressive and committed eleven fouls in the opening half an hour to Mainz’s four. Both teams continued to cancel each other out and chances were hard to come by. There were few notable moments in the closing stages of the half and the game remained goalless at the break.
FSV up the pressure, Stach’s goal disallowed due to offside
Neither side made any changes at the break, with the hosts getting off to a better start once again. Stefan Bell won the ball off Füllkrug to ignite a quick counter-attack. Anthony Caci cut the ball back into the box, where Pavlenka first kept out Ludovic Ajorque’s shot before being beaten by Anton Stach on the rebound. However, the linesman had spotted that Stach was offside prior to Ajorque’s shot, and the goal was subsequently ruled out (51’). Svensson then brought on several pairs of fresh legs at the hour-mark, as Jae-Sung Lee and Onisiwo replaced Leandro Barreiro and Marcus Ingvartsen. Moments later, Mainz recorded two quick chances in a matter of seconds. First, Kohr tested Pavlenka with a header from 12 metres out, before Ajorque was unable to redirect a header on target following a cross from Silvan Widmer (61’).
Mainz had begun to dominate proceedings and looked more likely to score than the Green-Whites. Fernandes had a chance to open the scoring in the 71st minute, but his shot from a tight angle was kept out by Pavlenka. Werder’s biggest chance since the break came as Füllkrug was able to get off a free header inside the box, but Zentner was on hand to stop it (73’). The Zerofivers were then unlucky that a flicked on header from Lee wasn’t able to find its way through to Ajorque (77’). Lee was once again involved late on, first having a shot parried by Pavlenka and then missing from close range after a rebound fell into his path (80’). With just four minutes left to play, the Zerofivers would finally find the back of the net after Bremen failed to clear a corner. Ajorque slammed home his fourth goal of the season from close range (85’). FSV’s euphoria didn’t last long, however, as Werder were able to equalise immediately from kick off. Weiser was able to find space down the right and send a cross into the box where Stage was able to beat Zentner with a header (87’). In a wild end to the game, the Zerofivers would take back the lead in the final minute of injury time as Weiper looked to have secured the win for the hosts (90’+4). Werder weren’t beaten yet, though, as Füllkrug found the space to beat Zentner inside the box to net another equaliser for the guests just seconds later. In the end, the Zerofivers had to settle for a point, despite having taken the lead twice late on.
FSV’s ninth draw of the season leaves them on 41 points after 27 games. Next up for Mainz is a trip to the RheinEnergieStadion to face FC Köln (Saturday, 15th April, 15:30 CET).