Before the Bundesliga season, Christian Wetklo had to give up his starting spot in goal for Mainz as head coach Thomas Tuchel saw challenger Heinz Müller move ahead of the old-serving member of the Mainz squad. The disappointment was huge. But after weeks of being a reserve, Wetklo was back in the spotlight Wednesday night as his teammates threw themselves on top of the 1.90m, 90kg keeper. "Now I know why I put in all the work, for this moment," said Wetklo.

Christian Wetklo and the new confidence
Wetklo made an acrobatic save with his left foot on a penalty by Didier Ya Konan deep into stoppage time of extra time in Mainz's 1-0 victory over Hannover in the second round of the German DFB Cup. Mainz have some confidence again after eight Bundesliga matches without a victory. Now Mainz hope to confirm that confidence on Saturday 29 October 2011 at 6:30 p.m. when Werder Bremen arrive for the 11th game day at the brand new Coface Arena. "This success could have been the punch for us," said Andreas Ivanschitz, who scored the winning goal. "But we won't see about that until we play Bremen."

Werder head coach Thomas Schaaf will give his Green-Whites plenty of warning ahead of this hurdle. "They want to profit from this experience. Games like yesterday can help find your way again," said Schaaf. Mainz's way last season led them to fifth place at the end of the campaign. But after two victories over Leverkusen and Freiburg to start the season, Mainz have struggled with just nine points and are 15th on the table this season. That should be another warning to Werder. Mainz cannot be underestimated.