Mainz 05 loses in Fuerth

Also read about this: Comment on the defeat of the 05er in Fürth: sloppiness
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When the Rheinhessen looked for a way forward, it was in most cases via the flanks. However, the Fürth defense cleaned up the too predictable combination attempts without effort. Karim Onisiwo had the first promising opportunity to equalize, after a chaotic situation in the penalty area the ball fell at the feet of the Franks. However, the Austrian’s conclusion did not pose a problem for Fürth keeper Sascha Burchert (21′).

Ball losses, bad passes, lack of concentration: For a long time, guests did not succeed in a playful way. Then with the crowbar – that’s what Anton Stach probably thought, who hammered a free kick from around 25 meters onto the crossbar (29th). Jonathan Burkardt’s goal chance (35′) had a rather fortunate origin. After a pass from Jae-sung Lee, which was actually intended for Karim Onisiwo, he benefited from a positional error by Jetro Willems and ran towards Burchert unchallenged, but in the Fürth goalkeeper found his master. Happy or not – the Rheinhessen seemed to gain some self-confidence. Only a little later Karim Onisiwo asserted himself on the right side and crossed to Jae-sung Lee, who was positioned in the middle, but whose header remained harmless (37th).

Towards the end of the first half, Mainz 05 increasingly took control. When Jonathan Burkardt followed his advance down the left wing with a flat cross, Fürth defender Willems almost pushed the ball into his own goal. The ball hit the crossbar again (41′). Three minutes later it was Burkardt himself who, after a one-two with Aaron, shot the ball wide of the goal on the right.

The game remained divided even after the change of sides. What also remained the same: The second half began – just like the first – with an exclamation point of the shamrocks. Jeremy Dudziak cheekily pointed the ball to Jamie Leweling, who was allowed to shoot inside the box (52′). Once again, Robin Zentner saved his 05 and cleared for a corner kick – which remained harmless. In the 66th minute, however, the Mainz goalkeeper was powerless. After a perfectly played pass from Paul Seguin, Jeremy Dudziak played the ball sharply into the middle, where Stefan Ball was unable to withdraw his left foot in time and scored the 0:2 deficit with an own goal.

Babak Keyhanfar reacted immediately, switched to a defensive back four and made two substitutions: Alexander Hack and Jean-Paul Boetius entered the field. Unlucky Stefan Bell and Aaron had finished work. Captain Moussa Niakhaté henceforth defended the left flank. Meinzer relied on an additional man in midfield. In the 72nd minute Keyhanfar changed again. Former Fürther Anton Stach and Jae-sung Lee made room for Kevin Stöger and Paul Nebel. A little later, Daniel Brosinski replaced the inconspicuous Silvan Widmer (80th). The many substitutions were no longer conducive to the flow of the game (which hardly existed anyway). But that wasn’t the point.

With fresh players on the pitch, Rheinhessen started the final offensive. The result: A cross from Paul Nebel to Onisiwo, whose header flew past the Fürth goal on the right (82′) – not compelling enough. Quite the opposite of Spvgg Greuther Fürth. Because in the 87th minute of the game, substitute Havard Nielsen almost made it 3-0 for the Franks after a remarkable combination, but did not hit the ball as planned when he finished. In injury time, 05 striker Karim Onisiwo corrected the result from Mainz’s perspective to 1:2. But the goal came too late and hardly raised any hopes at FSV. Ultimately, the Rheinhessen lost 1:2. That was not undeserved after another disappointing away game.