Ingolstadt down toothless Mainz
Moritz Hartmann's first-half penalty was enough to give FC Ingolstadt 04 a winning start to 2016 with a 1-0 defeat of 1. FSV Mainz 05 on Saturday.
FC Ingolstadt 04 1-0 1. FSV Mainz 05
Goals: 1-0 Hartmann (pen. 41')
The visitors took their time to settle, but their trademark neat, one-touch play surfaced on 17 minutes - Jairo Samperio teed up Yunus Malli, but his first-time strike was unwittingly blocked by team-mate Danny Latza. Almost immediately at the opposite end, Hartmann's luck was out as he helped a header over Loris Karius only to see the ball strike the bar.
Ramazan Özcan was able to comfortably field a Julian Baumgartlinger volley, but at the opposite end, Karius was powerless to prevent Hartmann slotting home from the spot after Stefan Bell had handled. With Malli and Samperio not quite linking up as coach Martin Schmidt would have hoped, and even the second-half introduction of Yoshinori Muto failing to spark the visitors into life, Mainz failed to significantly trouble Özcan after the break as Ingolstadt eased to victory.
Man of the match
Unsung and unfussy, Hartmann worked tirelessly, and held his nerve when it mattered.
Talking point
Will Mainz's vaunted attacking players click into gear? They looked rusty in Ingolstadt.
Match stats
- Ingolstadt's triumph was only their third at home this season – they have collected just 11 points from nine matches on their own patch.FCI's record signing, Dario Lezcano, came off the bench in the second half to make his Bundesliga debut.
Line-ups
Ingolstadt: Özcan - da Costa, M. Matip (c), B. Hübner, Ro. Bauer - Roger - P. Groß, Morales (Christiansen 68') - Mo. Hartmann (Bregerie 90+2'), Kachunga (Lezcano 64'), Leckie
Mainz: Karius - Brosinski, Balogun, Bell, Bussmann - Latza, Baumgartlinger (c) - Clemens, Malli (De Blasis 86'), Jairo (Muto 71') - Cordoba
