Mainz, Hoffenheim split points to remain unbeaten in Bundesliga
FSV Mainz and TSG Hoffenheim shared the points in a lackluster 0-0 Friday night draw that kept both teams unbeaten after six matches and moved them joint second in the table behind leaders Bayern Munich.
The contest never truly came to life as both emphasized caution through midfield and tried unsuccessfully to break using quick counters. That produced a match of few real chances and a league table with four teams one point behind Bayern. Bayer Leverkusen and Hannover are the teams sharing 10 points with Friday night's combatants.
Playing without Bundesliga scoring leader Shinji Okazaki, Mainz struggled to find attacking rhythm. Okazaki, with five goals in five matches, missed the match with a calf injury and his absence was obvious.
Hoffenheim had the better of things in the opening 45 minutes but Mainz keeper Loris Karius made important stops on Anthony Modeste and Roberto Firmino to keep it level at the interval. Mainz made one clear opening when Sami Allagui and Jonas Hofmann combined to set Filip Djuricic free at the top of the box only for Oliver Baumann to charge off his line to parry Djuricic's attempted chip toward an open goal.
Both teams gave the ball away too cheaply,neither establishling real dominance in midfield. Mainz had a decent spell right after the interval, but the best chance actually fell to Firmino, who lacked the angle to convert a header at the right post in the 61st minute.
Saturday's six-match program features the Schalke vs. Borussia Dortmund in the Ruhr Valley derby, leader Bayern Munich's visit to Cologne and Bayer Leverkusen's trip to SC Freiburg. Surprise SC Paderborn, which had its stay atop the league ended at Bayern on Tuesday, comes back home to host Borussia Moenchengladbach. Hannover 96 goes to VfB Stuttgart and Wolfsburg hosts Werder Bremen to complete the slate.
