Neither Hamburg nor Mainz could gain a crucial three points from their bottom of the table clash at the Volksparkstadion as they played out an uninspiring goalless draw on matchday 32 of the Bundesliga. The two sides remain level on 34 points, with Hamburg occupying the relegation play-off place in 16th because of an inferior goal difference. Hamburg have a four point cushion above Ingolstadt and it was important for Mainz that they didn’t lose today and let the Hamburgers overtake them in the table.
Hamburg gave a start to 18-year-old Vasilije Janjicic in front of 53,915 fans at the Volksparkstadion. Christian Mathenia started in goal for the north-German side and needed to be alert as early as the seventh minute to deny Jhon Cordoba and then Yoshinori Muto. This bright start showed that Mainz hadn’t come to Hamburg to defend. Filip Kostic created the first opening for the home side as he weaved his way down the left and almost found the bottom corner in the 14th minute.
Game of few chances
Hamburg were disappointing in attack, often playing long balls to an isolated Bobby Wood. Lewis Holtby tried to make things happen from the number 10 position, but ultimately found himself too isolated on too many occasions. At the other end, an interesting battle was developing between Cordoba and Kyriakos Papadopoulos, with the Mainz forward having most of the game’s goalscoring opportunities.
The next action in either penalty box then didn’t come until the 39th minute, when Aaron Hunt went down under the challenge of Mainz captain Stefan Bell. However, referee Daniel Siebert was unmoved. Cordoba came close for Mainz, but was again denied by Mathenia.
In the second-half, much like the first, the game was much more about endeavour and hard work than stylish football. Mainz didn’t want to allow their opponent any space and pressed hard. Hamburg failed to find the answers, however, and rarely got the ball wide to exploit the space on the wings. Cordoba went closest to finding a winner but couldn’t beat Mathenia in the Hamburg net.
Neither Hamburg nor Mainz could gain a crucial three points from their bottom of the table clash at the Volksparkstadion as they played out an uninspiring goalless draw on matchday 32 of the Bundesliga. The two sides remain level on 34 points, with Hamburg occupying the relegation play-off place in 16th because of an inferior goal difference. Hamburg have a four point cushion above Ingolstadt and it was important for Mainz that they didn’t lose today and let the Hamburgers overtake them in the table.
Hamburg gave a start to 18-year-old Vasilije Janjicic in front of 53,915 fans at the Volksparkstadion. Christian Mathenia started in goal for the north-German side and needed to be alert as early as the seventh minute to deny Jhon Cordoba and then Yoshinori Muto. This bright start showed that Mainz hadn’t come to Hamburg to defend. Filip Kostic created the first opening for the home side as he weaved his way down the left and almost found the bottom corner in the 14th minute.
Game of few chances
Hamburg were disappointing in attack, often playing long balls to an isolated Bobby Wood. Lewis Holtby tried to make things happen from the number 10 position, but ultimately found himself too isolated on too many occasions. At the other end, an interesting battle was developing between Cordoba and Kyriakos Papadopoulos, with the Mainz forward having most of the game’s goalscoring opportunities.
The next action in either penalty box then didn’t come until the 39th minute, when Aaron Hunt went down under the challenge of Mainz captain Stefan Bell. However, referee Daniel Siebert was unmoved. Cordoba came close for Mainz, but was again denied by Mathenia.
In the second-half, much like the first, the game was much more about endeavour and hard work than stylish football. Mainz didn’t want to allow their opponent any space and pressed hard. Hamburg failed to find the answers, however, and rarely got the ball wide to exploit the space on the wings. Cordoba went closest to finding a winner but couldn’t beat Mathenia in the Hamburg net.
