FSV Mainz 05 celebrated an extremely important 4-0 (1-0) victory in the Bundesliga basement duel against newly promoted Darmstadt 98 and shot the Hessians towards the 2nd league. Andreas Hanche-Olsen in the 32nd minute, Brajan Gruda (60th) and Jae-sung Lee (80th/84th) scored the goals for Rheinhessen on Saturday in front of 33,000 spectators, who now have 23 points in the table in sixteenth place .
The bottom team from Darmstadt, without a win for 21 games, is already nine points behind the relegation place six game days before the end of the season and will hardly be able to avert a direct return to the second division. The Hessians achieved their last success for the time being six months ago with a 2-1 win at FC Augsburg. “We have to be extremely realistic,” said Darmstadt coach Torsten Lieberknecht after the game. After this game, a rescue from relegation from the Bundesliga “would be a more than great miracle.”
The Mainz team, who remained unbeaten in their fifth home game under new coach Bo Henriksen thanks to a courageous performance, can continue to hope for direct relegation after their deserved victory. The gap to table 15th. VfL Bochum is only three points.
Mainz dominates and scores
The hosts put pressure on right from the start and could have taken the lead early through Jonathan Burkardt. However, the striker was denied in front of the goal by Darmstadt goalkeeper Marcel Schuhen, who directed the ball around the post with a strong save.
Almost in return, things became dangerous for the first time when the visitors counterattacked on the other side. Braydon Manu fed Mathias Honsak, but FSV goalkeeper Robin Zentner was a step quicker to the ball and made a desperate save outside the penalty area.
However, the game was dominated by the home team, who had further good opportunities through Lee and Gruda. Darmstadt had a hard time on the offensive, but was largely secure at the back. There was only danger when it came to standards.
The eye-catching Nadiem Amiri narrowly missed the target with a direct free kick, and a little later Hanche-Olsen did better. The Norwegian scored from close range after Lee headed Amiri’s free-kick cross.
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With the lead behind them, the Mainz team acted even more dominantly, but initially failed to extend their lead. This almost took revenge after the substitution when Honsak hit the outside post with a header from a tight angle.
As so often in previous games, the Hessians then handed out a gift to their opponents. When Bartol Franjic’s return to the goalkeeper’s shoes fell short, Burkardt intervened and immediately passed it across to Gruda, who heaved the ball directly under the crossbar.
This broke the resistance of the guests, who were acting far too conservatively. In the final phase, Lee crowned his strong performance with two goals.
