11th matchday
Meager zero number between Darmstadt and Mainz
Darmstadt (blue jerseys) and Mainz played a goalless game. photo
© Uwe Anspach/dpa
Darmstadt 98 and Mainz 05 show why they are far down the table in the Bundesliga.
No winner in the neighborhood duel: Darmstadt 98 and FSV Mainz 05 drew goalless on matchday 11 of the Bundesliga and are still stuck in the bottom of the table. 17,810 spectators experienced a game on a very modest level and without any highlights.
The draw in the relegation battle doesn’t really help either Hessen (8 points) or Mainz (7), who are at least still unbeaten under interim coach Jan Siewert. Neither team deserved more than one point.
Coach Torsten Lieberknecht was absent from Darmstadt for personal reasons. His assistant Ovid Hajou, who had to do without veteran Tobias Kempe (foot injury) for a short time, initially saw a clearly superior Mainz team on the sidelines.
After the 2-0 win against RB Leipzig the previous week, the Rheinhessen appeared confident from the start and at times tied the lilies in their half. However, the guests were hardly able to create any chances.
A shot from Leandro Barreiro that narrowly missed the target was the only dangerous action in the first half. Otherwise, the 05ers, who presented their attacks too statically, ran out of ideas near the penalty area.
As always, the newcomer was strong in running and fighting, but practically nothing came together in terms of play. Until the break, the Hessians did not fire a single shot at the Mainz goal. So it went into the locker room goalless.
After the change, the home team played a little more courageously and had their first opportunity. However, Oscar Vilhelmsson aimed too imprecisely so that FSV goalkeeper Robin Zentner did not have to intervene.
However, the level of the game remained modest. There were many duels and bad passes on both sides. None of the rivals, who fought for every centimeter in midfield, posed a goal threat. And when they went forward with purpose, the necessary precision was missing in the end, as was the case with a shot from Mainz’s Anthony Caci (82′).
In the final phase the home team pushed for the winning goal again, but it wouldn’t come. Fraser Hornby (88th) and Mathias Honsak (90th) were denied by Zentner, who saved the guests from conceding a late goal.