mainz down rhine-main rivals Frankfurt on schmidt debut
Cologne - Martin Schmidt enjoyed a winning start as 1. FSV Mainz 05 head coach as his charges beat local rivals Eintracht Frankfurt 3-1 at the Coface Arena.
Quickfire double
The hosts dominated throughout but had to come from behind to snatch all three points, with Christian Clemens, Johannes Geis and Yunus Malli all getting on the scoresheet after Stefan Aigner’s seventh goal of the season gave the visitors a 35th-minute lead. Carlos Zambrano’s late dismissal rounded off a thoroughly depressing Rhine-Main derby for the Eagles.
With a sold-out Coface Arena urging them on, Mainz burst out of the blocks. Shinji Okazaki came closest in the opening stages, but after the hosts’ powerful start had faded, Eintracht began to threaten on the counter. Alex Meier failed to make the most of a clear-cut opportunity, but in-form Aigner converted unerringly from Haris Seferovic’s clever pass to give Frankfurt the lead. Within three minutes, however, Mainz were deservedly level after Okazaki unselfishly teed up Clemens for a tap-in.
A quickfire double from Mainz within five minutes of the restart then put the derby beyond Eintracht's reach. Geis’ 47th-minute free kick was too powerful for Kevin Trapp at his near post, and Malli increased the lead two minutes later, applying a calm finish to Pablo De Blasis’ low cross. Thereafter, Schmidt’s side had no trouble closing out the game, while Zambrano’s late dismissal completed a miserable afternoon for Frankfurt.
Line-ups and statistics
