SpVgg Greuther Fürth beats Mainz and is beginning to look like a full member of the Bundesliga – but could be too late.
Coach Stefan Leitl cheered exuberantly, his worn-out professionals were happy to note this second win of the season, SpVgg Greuther Fürth seems to have finally arrived in the Bundesliga. However, it could be too late for a miraculous rescue.
Even after the happy 2:1 (1:0) against Mainz 05, Fürth remains bottom of the table, nine points behind the relegation place – the mood has changed, however.
“Definitely” the climber has now arrived, “nothing is lost yet,” said goal scorer Jeremy Dudziak: “We will not put our feet up now, we will continue to work on ourselves, get the best out of ourselves.”
The team believe “always in the next game and that we can achieve a good result,” said manager Rachid Azzouzi: “We’ve started the second half of the season well.” Before the home win, Fürth had drawn three times.
Mainz dominant after an early deficit, but unlucky
Dudziak gave the hosts the lead (12′) in what was at times a turbulent game that oscillated for long stretches. Mainz, who were initially indisposed, caught themselves after a good half hour and had numerous great chances, especially in the first half – goalkeeper Sascha Burchert and twice the crossbar stood in the way of the deserved equalization before Stefan Bell scored an own goal (66th). Karim Onisiwo (90+3) only scored the goal in added time.
Mainz was coached by assistant coach Babak Keyhanfar during the game after boss Bo Svensson was suspended for four yellow cards – the first coach since the rule was introduced for the 2019/2020 season. The Dane was only allowed to speak to his players before the game and during half-time.
Keyhanfar was in front of the bench from the start and had to watch how his team made numerous nasty mistakes in the chaotic early phase, the most serious of which were used by ball conquerors Paul Seguin and Dudziak to lead Fürth – the result of a sloppy pass from Moussa Niakhate to Anton Stach.
Fürth – Mainz: Bell’s own goal makes the decision
Mainz seemed unsorted on the defensive and almost immediately fell even further behind. Svensson, who followed the game with a mask in a box, could hardly calm down during this phase, his “Co” screamed at the line.
Mainz only recovered after half an hour and Fürth immediately came under pressure. Burchert deflected a free-kick from Stach to the crossbar (29′) and a shot from Jonathan Burkardt, who appeared free in front of him, went around the post (35′). The shamrock was lucky when an unsuccessful attempt to defend by Williams hit the crossbar (41st).
The Fürthers came out of the dressing room with fresh energy. The hosts were better able to withstand the pressure from Mainz and were lucky with one of their attacks: Bell deflected a cross from the strong Dudziak into his own goal completely unhindered.
SpVgg Greuther Fürth – FSV Mainz 05: The voices
Stefan Leitl (coach SpVgg Greuther Furth): “We started very well and played very well. But you have to say that we’re relatively happy going into the break with the lead. In the second half we were very compact and largely controlled the game. All in all it was one thing good performance against a good team. The fact that we got five points from the first three games of the second half of the season feels good. At the end of the day we’ll see where the journey goes. We got off to a good start, that’s what we want move on.”
Bo Svensson (FSV Mainz 05 coach): “We started the game very, very badly, also in terms of attitude. You can’t go into a Bundesliga game like we did today. We have to question that. That was a deserved defeat today. Of course it’s not ideal, when I’m up there, but that’s no excuse. I let my team down a little bit today too. I’m extremely disappointed with the loss, but most of all with the attitude and way we approached the game.”
