Relegation battle in the Bundesliga, now also the end of the DFB Cup: The ailing FSV Mainz 05 missed the round of 16 and is sliding deeper and deeper into the crisis. Coach Bo Svensson’s team lost 0-3 (0-1) to second division team Hertha BSC, who can still dream of the final in their own stadium thanks to two penalty kicks.
Fabian Reese (45th + 3, penalty kick) and Haris Tabakovic (50th, hand penalty), who was also successful with a header (61st), scored coldly from the spot and shot the hosts into the round of the best 16. Meanwhile, things are coming to a head The situation near the Rheinhessen continues to increase. The Mainz team celebrated their only success of the season so far two and a half months ago in the first round of the cup against SV Elversberg.
The air is getting thinner for Svensson; Mainz sports director Martin Schmidt avoided making a clear commitment to his coach after the game and announced a “tough analysis”. “Bo will be on the bench on Saturday if we can get this analysis moving in the right direction,” Schmidt said.
Fabian Reese (45th + 3, penalty kick) and Haris Tabakovic (50th, hand penalty), who was also successful with a header (61st), scored coldly from the spot and shot the hosts into the round of the best 16. Meanwhile, things are coming to a head The situation near the Rheinhessen continues to increase. The Mainz team celebrated their only success of the season so far two and a half months ago in the first round of the cup against SV Elversberg.
“We have to say that that’s not enough for the Bundesliga at the moment and not enough to progress against a second division team in the cup. We deserved to be kicked out,” Schmidt continued: “It’s stagnating at the moment at all ends.”
DFB Cup: Mainz 05 had hoped for a turnaround against Hertha BSC
The bottom of the Bundesliga table had hoped for a turnaround in the second round of the cup. “The feeling of a sense of achievement can bring you a lot,” Svensson emphasized: “It’s not just about getting ahead one round.”
Compared to the 2-2 draw at VfL Bochum last Friday, Svensson changed his starting eleven to five positions and, among others, sent Aymen Barkok onto the field from the start in the Berlin Olympic Stadium. The 25-year-old came into the penalty area at speed right from the start, but Deyovaisio Zeefuik cleared in time (3′).
In a balanced opening phase, things got tricky on the other side for the first time after Mainz lost the ball. But after a cross from Reese, Marten Winkler slipped past the ball just in front of the guests’ goal (10th), and a little later he was denied by keeper Robin Zentner (16th).
Mainz had a hard time against the Berlin defense, and the guests initially had no way past Zeefuik, especially on the right side. After a long throw-in, the 05ers finally had the opportunity to take the lead, but Leandro Barreiro hit the crossbar from close range (29′).
Instead, Hertha scored the first goal: Maxim Leitsch brought down Florian Niederlechner in the penalty area, Reese coldly converted the penalty. And after the break the next one followed. The ball bounced off Brajan Gruda’s arm during a clearance, and this time Tabakovic scored from the spot. The Berliners didn’t let up, and shortly afterwards the striker headed the ball home.