Draw against Gladbach: Decimated Mainz squander the lead at the break

At halftime they were allowed to dream of their third win of the season in the Bundesliga against 1. FSV Mainz 05 on Saturday (March 2nd, 2024). But the dream burst.

“When you see the first half, you have to be positive”said Mainz coach Bo Henriksen to ARD radio after the 1-1 (1-0) draw against Borussia Mönchengladbach. He knows that his players are not happy with the result. He could understand that too, said Henriksen. But he sees it differently. “You should be proud of yourself.”

Jonathan Burkardt gave Mainz 05 the lead in the 11th minute before Gladbach’s Nathan Ngoumou made the final score 1-1 (1-0) with his equalizer (55th). Mainz is still waiting for its third win of the season and remains second to last in the table with 16 points. Gladbach is still in the middle of the table.

Mainz dominates – and Burkardt scores

In the days before the game, Henriksen had sometimes talked about the relegation battle. Henriksen, 49, has been the coach of 1. FSV Mainz 05 for a few weeks, the team that had only won twice before matchday 24 and was therefore in 17th place. “Every game will be a final for us,” said Henriksen. And he must have liked the way his team approached the first of eleven finals.

When referee Robert Schröder blew the whistle at halftime in the game against Borussia Mönchengladbach, statisticians had marked 14 shots for Mainz and also one goal. The lead for the 05ers fell after Lee Jae-sung got the ball in midfield and turned it up. He then played the ball to Burkardt, who hit the top left corner with his left foot from the edge of the penalty area.

For 1. FSV Mainz 05 it was goal number 19 of the season, and they had had problems scoring goals at times. It was Burkardt’s second goal of the season. He has been missing a lot this season, first because of knee surgery and most recently because of an infection. They missed him in Mainz.

Gladbach’s Koné almost hits his own goal

Burkardt gave Mainz a deserved lead at the break, which could easily have been higher. It was the 24th minute when Silvan Widmer failed with a low shot from a tight angle past goalkeeper Moritz Nicolas. A little later, Nicolas was at his post when Manu Koné deflected a corner into his own goal.

Shortly before the end of the first half they would have liked to get a penalty in Mainz, but they didn’t get one. Leandro Barreiro came to the header from almost 16 meters, but headed just left of the goal. Then Barreiro went down. Julian Weigl hit him in the thigh. But referee Schröder allowed play to continue (45th + 2).

Mainz concedes the equalizer – and coach Henriksen sees yellow

Mainz coach Henriksen was also likely to have been satisfied with the first few minutes of the second half. Then Barreiro lost the ball in midfield – and Gladbach countered. Ngoumou passed to Florian Neuhaus on the right, and he passed back into the middle. Ngoumou stood there and scored the equalizer with Gladbach’s first chance to score.

The people of Mainz complained. They had seen a foul on Barreiro. Only referee Schröder didn’t blow his whistle, the Mainz protest was in vain. Henriksen was dissatisfied with the whistle not blowing. And certainly with his team too. He complained, and he did it a little too intensely. But he saw yellow.

Gladbach presses for the second goal

Afterwards, there wasn’t much to be seen of Mainz’s determination, which had probably also impressed Borussia until the equaliser. Now Gladbach suddenly played along, also because coach Gerrardo Seoane had drawn the right conclusions by switching to a three-man chain at half-time. His team, which until then had often just followed behind, now set the pace themselves.

The guests from Lower Rhine almost rewarded themselves with a second goal, but Robin Zentner was also in the Mainz goal. First Koné headed a cross from Ngoumou towards the goal, but Zentner parried (63′). Then Lee lost the ball in the build-up. Somehow the ball landed at Neuhaus, whose direct shot saved a hundred pounds (65′).

Kohr sees yellow a second time

In the end they had to be happy in Mainz that they had at least gotten a point. In the 84th minute, Dominik Kohr was shown a yellow-red card because he complained. That was annoying for Mainz. It was an avoidable sending off. Gladbach used the superiority in personnel to increase the pressure a little. But they couldn’t score the winning goal. He had mixed feelings, Gladbach’s coach Seoane told ARD radio. “We have to live with that point.”

The derby against 1. FC Köln awaits Borussia Mönchengladbach next Saturday (March 9th, 2024). A difficult game also awaits 1. FSV Mainz 05. They will also be back in action on Saturday when they face FC Bayern Munich.