Mainz succumbed to defeat in their European return despite Amiri’s stunner | OneFootball

Despite a poor performance, Mainz were close to salvaging a hard-fought draw in the first-leg of their Conference League tie in Rosenborg before a 90th-minute goal. Bo Henriksen’s team will hope to reverse the result at home next week.

A few hours before the game, Mainz had to deal with a strange incident after three wheels of the team’s bus were stolen by an unknown individual. On the pitch, the challenge was even more difficult in front of a rousing atmosphere at Lerkendal Stadion.

Rosenborg were by far the better side as Robin Zentner was the busiest of the two goalkeepers in the first-half. The long-serving shot-stopper made a decent save to deny the left-sided midfielder Simen Bolkan Nordli. A few minutes later, Jesper Reitan-Sunde attempted a similar shot from the other flank.

Mainz’s first chance came in the tenth minute when new signing Benedict Hollerbach’s header from Antony Caci’s pinpoint cross was parried away by Roseborg’s young goalkeeper Sander Tangvik.

Tangvik was never going to save Nadiem Amiri’s unstoppable shot in the 25th minute, however. After scoring the winner in the cup against Dynamo Dresden from a direct free-kick, Amiri came up with another golazo to give Mainz an undeserved lead.

Somehow, Rosenborg still maintained their momentum in the game as Zentner had to stay alert in Mainz’s goal. And, minutes before the half-time break, they found the equalizer.

Kaishū Sano’s foul on Reitan-Sunde resulted in a penalty-kick for the hosts after a lengthy VAR check. Dino Islamovic scored his fifth goal of the competition with a calm finish from the spot-kick.

Mainz started the second-half positively to match the energy of their spectacular traveling fans behind Rosenborg’s goal. Lee Jae-sung, who wore a protective helmet on Monday due to a broken cheekbone, had the first chance since the restart.

The Bundesliga side also dominated possession, unlike the first 45 minutes. However, the next big chance was registered by the hosts thanks to the marauding full-back Aslak Fonn Witry.

In general, the second-half was largely uneventful. Mainz were happy to take the draw before next week’s home leg, while Rosenborg struggled to maintain their intensity. Caci had one of the best chances for Mainz with a long-range effort fifteen minutes before the end of regular time.

Surprisingly, Rosenborg’s coach Alfred Johansson waited until the 86th minute to make his first substitutions. However, that did work according to the plan. Ole Sæter scored the winner with a close-range header only four minutes after coming on to the pitch. The 29-year-old striker even had a great chance to give Rosenborg a two-goal lead in injury-time.

The two clubs will play the return leg next Thursday at Mewa Arena with a place in the league phase of the UEFA Conference League at stake.