FSV Mainz 05 has continued to move away from the relegation zone. The Rheinhessen won 3-1 (2-1) against FC Augsburg.
Bo Svensson let out a cheer after the final whistle and hugged his assistant coach tightly. The 3:1 (2:1) against FC Augsburg seemed like a liberation at FSV Mainz 05. “It was a very difficult game. We wanted to keep the distance to the relegation place, so it was an important win,” summed up the FSV sports director Martin Schmidt at Sky.
Jae-Sung Lee (21st/52nd) with a brace and Karim Onisiwo (24th) scored for Mainz to a deserved home win. In the meantime, the Augsburg team shortened the penalty by Ermedin Demirovic (29th, according to video evidence), but conceded another setback away from home. Coach Enrico Maassen’s team, who looked distressed, remains in the middle of the relegation battle.
“All of our goals were kind of weird,” admitted Schmidt, because some of the guests gave a lot of help. Demirovic was clear in his statement: “We weren’t good enough, that wasn’t enough. I don’t exclude myself, it wasn’t a good day. We conceded a few goals.”
Compared to the important success against Leverkusen (1-0), Maassen made two changes. Demirovic returned from suspension and winter signing Renato Veiga made his debut. Mainz was missing Dominik Kohr (bruised ribs) in the starting XI, so Anton Stach joined the team.
Mainz with a quick double strike
“A game in which there will be a bang in the duels,” Svensson had predicted – and that’s exactly how the game started. The 22,200 fans initially saw intense duels, lots of long balls, but hardly any shots worth mentioning. That changed when Lee stole the ball from a sleepy Felix Uduokhai and slotted it in from close range at the end of the counterattack.
With the lead behind them, Mainz in their colorful carnival jerseys quickly followed suit. A failed fist defense by FCA goalkeeper Rafal Gikiewicz landed in a roundabout way for Onisiwo, who scored with a header. Augsburg responded promptly: Leandro Barreiro from Mainz received the ball from close range on his outstretched arm, and Demirovic safely converted the penalty.
FSV wasn’t unsettled by this, Svensson’s team acted more purposefully and was much closer to the next goal than the guests. Ludovic Ajorque missed the best chance from almost two meters (43rd).
That’s exactly where FSV picked up after the break and a short break due to pyrotechnics in the Augsburg block. First Barreiro missed the third goal (47th), only a little later Lee switched after a long ball faster than FCA defender Robert Gumny and pointed the ball into the net.
Mainz continued to control the action and pushed for the next goal. Augsburg, on the other hand, lacked the penetrating power. This did not include Fredrik Jensen’s (74th) supposed connection due to an offside position.
1. FSV Mainz 05 vs. FC Augsburg: The data for the game
Gates: 1: 0 Lee (21st), 2: 0 Onisiwo (24th), 2: 1 Demirovic (28th, penalty), 3: 1 Lee (52nd)
yellow cards: Stach (4) – Gumny (3)
1. FSV Mainz 05 vs. FC Augsburg: The voices
Bo Svensson (FSV Mainz 05 coach): “We’re very happy that we deserved to win. The goal helped us. I think we were very active. We even handled the goal well. I’m very happy with the team’s performance.”
Enrico Maassen (FC Augsburg coach): “In the first 15 minutes we were fully into the game. Gross individual mistakes cost us our reward and made Mainz strong. We weren’t in the shape we were in the last four games. For us it’s a used day.”
