1. FSV Mainz 05 lost their first Bundesliga win of the season late at Borussia Mönchengladbach. But the 2:2 gives us courage for the tasks ahead.
After the late equalizer, Bo Svensson initially didn’t want to hear about a missed opportunity. “I don’t think we can complain about the game ending in a draw,” said the Mainz coach – only to quickly add: “In our situation, it would of course be very important to still win a game like that. Even if it wouldn’t be deserved.”
A point that “does Mainz very, very well”
Just a few minutes earlier, his team had tasted their important first win of the season at Borussia Park in Mönchengladbach. Shooting star Brajan Gruda (24th minute) and Aymen Barkok (75th) turned the game around after the hosts’ opening goal by Florian Neuhaus (22nd). But shortly before the end, substitute Joe Scally (88th) suddenly shattered the struggling Mainz team’s dreams of the longed-for liberation.
“This threesome would have been incredibly good for us,” agreed sports director Martin Schmidt Svensson. But the team has to be happy with the 2:2 because after all it is “a point that is very, very good for us”. And even more important for Schmidt: “You can see that the team is alive.”
Gruda shines with the 05s
Above all, the appearance of the 19-year-old Gruda, who has now been called up to the U21 national team squad again after his debut in September, delighted those in charge in Mainz. And it wasn’t just his fantastic long-range shot to make it 1-1 that the bosses liked. “The boy is becoming more and more important,” said Schmidt: “He is a type of player that we don’t have in our squad.”
The sports director does not hold it against him that Gruda currently only has 70 minutes of playing time due to physical reasons. “He’s 19 years old, we can’t expect that of him yet,” said Schmidt. Svensson, on the other hand, would like to bet more on his new hope: “He has to stick with it so that he can play longer.”
FC Bayern is waiting for Mainz
But first the international break awaits Mainz, who with the point left the bottom of the table at least until Sunday. After the two-week break, Gruda and Co. want to seamlessly continue their positive performance – when record champions Bayern Munich are guests.
The Zero Fives would certainly have no objection to a repeat of the 3-1 win from the previous second half of the season – Mainz’s last Bundesliga win to date. Then maybe with 80 minutes of Gruda show.
