Magic Marvin secures all three points in Mainz

Match report from the 1-0 victory over 1. FSV Mainz 05

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Werder brought home all three points after beating 17th-place Mainz (Photo: WERDER.DE).

Match Report

Saturday, 03.02.2024 / 17:45

SV Werder Bremen came out on top on Saturday afternoon and are now on a seven-game unbeaten streak after defeating 1. FSV Mainz 05 1-0 at the MEWA ARENA. Ducksch opened the scoring for the Green-Whites just two minutes after kick-off, and the boys defended tirelessly throughout the first half. The game was neck and neck after the break, with the hosts applying pressure and threatening the Werder goal, but SVW held strong and fought them off until the final whistle, securing their third win on the trot.

Line-up and formation: Ole Werner made a last-minute decision to take on Mainz with the same starting XI from last week’s win over SC Freiburg, which saw Olivier Deman replace Mitchell Weiser on the left wing. New-signing Skelly Alvero made his debut appearance in the squad after only joining the Green-Whites earlier this week, while Isak Hansen-Aarøen supported the boys from Bremen.

Werder starting XI: Zetterer, Jung, Stark, Stage, Ducksch, Deman, Lynen, Njinmah, Schmid, Agu, Friedl.

Bench: Pavlenka, Kownacki, Bittencourt, Borré, Malatini, Alvero, Woltemade, Groß.

Ducksch sets the tone with an early opener

Marvin Ducksch after scoring the winner.

SVW prevailed thanks to Ducksch's early opener (Photo: nordphoto).

First-half highlights:

2nd minute: GOALLL!! Marvin Ducksch opens the scoring for the Green-Whites mere moments after kick-off! A deflection from Deman’s effort falls to Werder’s number 7 with his back facing goal, and he fires it mid-turn into the bottom right corner.

10th minute: Stark plays a magnificent pass into Ducksch on the diagonal, but the forward is unable to get it under control. Luckily, the ball makes its way through to Agu on the right, who tees up Deman in the centre, but the Belgian’s header flies over the bar.

15th minute: Mainz are awarded a free-kick from a central position following Stage’s foul on Barreiro. Amiri’s effort is deflected out for a corner, which finds Krauß on the edge of the box, but his shot is denied by the woodwork.

43rd minute: A Mainz corner is picked up by Zetterer with ease, who spots Njinmah’s forward run on the wing and launches it over to him. The forward takes the ball in his stride, dribbles around three defenders and lets fly, but narrowly misses the Mainz net.

Joy for Werder at the final whistle

Werder put in a solid defensive performance against Mainz (Photo: nordphoto).

Second-half highlights:

57th minute: The hosts push forward again. Onisiwo receives a pass in the Green-White penalty area and is brought down on his first touch, but the referee signals for play to continue.

61st minute: Zetti to the rescue! Mainz get through on goal for the first time, but Werder’s number 30 makes himself big and sends it out for a corner.

82nd minute: Mainz are awarded another free-kick from a central position. It reaches Onisiwo, who nods it in the direction of the Werder net, but he can’t keep the ball down and it flies over Zetterer.

90th minute+7: Full-time! Werder win 1-0 at the MEWA ARENA!

Summary: Werder started to lose their momentum after a strong first half and gave away possession quickly after winning it, but worked hard throughout the full 90 to defend their lead. Mainz tried and failed to penetrate Werder’s back line on countless occasions, so the Green-Whites were able to celebrate their third consecutive win at the final whistle.