Mainz 4-1 Kaiserslautern: 05ers record their third pre-season win
· Yahoo Sports
Urs Fischer’s Mainz beat Kaiserslautern 4-1 in their third pre-season game as they continue their preparation for the new season. The Bundesliga side used entirely different lineups for 60 minutes each as the game was played in four quarters.
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Mainz scored twice inside the first ten minutes as Phillip Tietz headed home Antony Caci’s corner-kick before Sheraldo Becker’s curler from the edge of the box. The first lineup ended the first two quarters with a three-goal advantage as Paul Nebel converted a penalty-kick awarded for a foul on Becker.
There was an hour gap between the third goal and Kaiserslautern’s consolation by former German international Mergim Berisha. Marco Richter, who spent last season on loan at 2. Bundesliga outfit Darmstadt, scored from range to restore Mainz’s three-goal lead before the end of the game.
New signings Eric Martel, Fabio Gruber, Sota Kawasaki, Alynho Haidara and Ransford Königsdörffer all appeared for Mainz. The latter suffered an injury after a collision with Yannick Onohiol, one of the three Kaiserslautern goalkeepers featured in the friendly game.
The former HSV attacker Königsdörffer found the net three times when Mainz started their pre-season with big wins over amateur sides Pfeddersheim and Eisbachtal earlier this month. Meanwhile, Nelson Weiper, who scored a hat-trick in the second game, has left the club today to join Austrian club Sturm Graz on a loan deal.
Kaiserslautern started their pre-season with a 5-3 win over Regionalliga outfit Sandhausen last week. The traditional club will kickstart their fifth successive 2. Bundesliga campaign away at VfL Wolfsburg, who faced a first-ever relegation from Bundesliga last term. Paderborn, who took Wolfsburg's place in Bundesliga, will be Mainz's first opponents when Germany's top-flight commences in the final weekend of August.