Mainz 3 - 3 Falusi (383882555)

Weather conditions were fairly good for football, and FSV Mainz Arena saw a crowd turnout of 17925. Gino Milazzo was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Murray Harperson and Konstantīns Cepurnieks. Mainz started off with a 3-5-2 lineup. Starters: Gailītis - Hamvasi, Benaglio, Čanović - Kurjenlahti, Camargo, Wiget, Ventrella, Nogueira - Pashkevich, Kuti.

Falusi had chosen a strategic 5-4-1 formation. Lineup: Stokke - Stoszek, Katona, Békés, Tőkei, Király - Cardino, Raines, Singleton, Macolino - Blanco.

Falusi saw most attack opportunities on the wings. Some quick footwork on the left side of the field 13 minutes into the match left Falusi's G. Tőkei completely free to score. 0 - 1 for the visitors. After the ball was lifted in from the left, G. Tőkei was on his own in the home side's penalty area and should have scored after 14 minutes, but missed, probably due to lack of concentration. B. Miskéri was called on to replace Falusi's P. Békés after 15 minutes following a nasty collision. 18 minutes into the match, the visitors put themselves ahead 0 - 2 as P. Katona finished off an attack from the left with a spectacular scissors kick. L. Kuti did everything he could to get one back for his Mainz, but keeper O. Stokke denied him with a spectacular block. 0 - 2 was the score after the first half. Mainz had most of the ball, with 53 percent of possession.

The coach of Falusi was happy with the game so far, but still wanted to change the line up. After 46 minutes, S. Spaljević came on for J. Blanco. Mainz's fans were urging them forward as they tried to get back into the game, and their vocal support was rewarded 58 minutes into the match as L. Kuti ran onto a beautiful ball played through the visitors' defence and slotted it past the keeper to reduce the deficit. 1 - 2. C. Cardino wanted to play on, but the Falusi coach had other ideas, and he was replaced 60 minutes into the game by P. Bang. After 70 minutes, Mainz switched D. Nogueira with B. Hujber, hoping for a quick impact on the pitch. Mainz needed a fresh pair of legs on the field, and after 80 minutes N. Pashkevich made way for Â. Borges. Â. Borges of Mainz displayed some of his fantastic technical abilities when he brought the ball down neatly using his instep before nutmegging the bewildered P. Bang and smashing an unstoppable shot past the goalkeeper to make it 2 - 2. The most controversial moment of the game was likely the penalty given after 84 minutes. Falusi's S. Macolino kept his concentration, despite the upset crowd, and calmly put the ball past the keeper to make the score 2 - 3. 85 minutes into the game, L. Kuti came close to levelling the score with a dangerous shot from the centre of the area that went just over the bar. The referee showed Falusi's B. Stoszek the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge. With 87 minutes having been played, Mainz scored to make it 3 - 3. A dribble down the left wing, followed by a shot which took a wicked bounce off a defender resulted in the keeper having no chance. Everyone thought it'd been an own goal, but D. Benaglio was marked down as the scorer. Mainz enjoyed most of the ball, as they maintained 52 percent of possession.

The most dominating Mainz player was without a doubt Â. Borges. On the other hand, J. Gailītis's play was disheartening. Falusi's top performer was clearly P. Bang. B. Stoszek on the other hand, had a terrible day. The match ends 3 - 3.