Late goals hand Marie-Louise Eta’s first Bundesliga win at Mainz

Late goals hand Marie-Louise Eta’s first Bundesliga win at Mainz

Marie-Louise Eta registered her first win as a Bundesliga coach as Union Berlin beat Mainz courtesy of two late goals. The visitors had the better chances throughout the game, although Mainz were unfortunate to take the lead earlier in a lively second-half.

Compared to the first two games on Sunday, the closing fixture of matchday 33 lacked big moments in the first-half. However, it didn’t end goalless either as Andrej Ilić scored his tenth Bundesliga goal in the 38th minute.

Before the Serbian’s goal, the biggest highlight of the half was the traveling fans forcing the game to be postponed for nearly ten minutes by throwing tennis balls. The rare timeslot isn’t welcomed by away fans since it usually means they will not return home before the early hours of Monday.

Union Berlin started the game brightly, while Urs Fischer was forced to make an early substitution. Danny da Costa couldn’t continue the game after trying to play through pain for ten minutes.

The visitors took the lead with their first clear-cut chance after a change of approach in their corner-kick. Ilić, who also had a strong finish to last season, headed home from Aljoscha Kemlein’s delivery.

Carl Klaus was crucial to keep them ahead before the break as the 32-year-old denied the lively Kaishū Sano from close range. The backup goalkeeper made his Bundesliga debut when Frederik Rönnow went off injured early in Union Berlin’s last game away from home in Leipzig.

However, he wasn’t able to keep the former Unioner Sheraldo Becker from tying the game three minutes after the restart. The Suriname international provided a smart finish from ’s delivery from the right wing. Becker initially decided not to celebrate his goal before a cheeky dance at the end before play resumes.