47th minute: Almost the perfect start to the second half for the Green-Whites. Kainz’s tackle gives Kruse the ball on the left but his shot from distance misses the target by a whisker.
53rd minute: Werder almost take the lead! Kruse shoots directly from a free-kick from the right-hand side and Öztunali deflects the free-kick but the Mainz ‘keeper does brilliantly to stick out a leg and make the save.
55th minute: Werder now have their slice of luck at the other end. De Blasis dribbles past three men down the left-hand side and plays in Öztunali in the middle but his shot with his instep ricochets off the top of the bar.
69th minute: Friedl makes the most of space in the centre of the pitch to drive with the ball and shoots powerfully from 25 yards out but his shot is just off target.
79th minute: GOAAAAAAAAL, 2-1 to Werder, Theo Gebre Selassie. Werder get their reward for their high pressure. Kainz plays in a corner to the far post to where Gebre Selassie had stolen in unnoticed and the Czech defender heads home from close range.
90+1 minute: Sheesh, that was close, Muto almost gets a last-gasp equaliser but the shot from the Mainz striker only hits the post.
90+4 minute: All over in Mainz. Werder hold onto the win.
Summary: Mainz, who had sealed their Bundesliga survival last weekend with a win in Dortmund, wanted to build on their form from the previous weeks. Werder’s makeshift backline were busy in the opening stages as they sought to deal with the hosts fast-paced attacks. Kainz’s equaliser after Eggestein’s brilliant work beforehand was therefore even more crucial. Kohfeldt’s team began to control the game more and more in attack and defence but without creating any dangerous goalscoring chances. The forced changes to the defence before half time meant the team had to improvise even more at the back but that didn’t throw them off. Max Kruse came into the game more in the second half and worked well with Kainz to wreak havoc in the Mainz defence. Theodor Gebre Selassie then converted Kainz’s corner to seal the win for the Green-Whites in this lively and attacking encounter.
