Thaindian News

Berlin, Nov 5 (IANS) Struggling Bundesliga football club Mainz showed a vital sign of improvement when they swept Stuttgart 3-1 courtesy a brace by striker Anthony Ujah.

After nine winless matches in row Mainz was able to crave out an emphatic win over Stuttgart in an exciting match. Both sides saved their energy for a seesaw match as Stuttgart striker Cacau opened the scoring with five minutes into second half to shock the hosts.

Mainz turned up to level the score only three minutes later as Ujah headed home his first Bundesliga goal, Xinhua reported.

In the 60th minute, referee Guido Winkemann awarded Mainz a controversial penalty after a supposed foul play inside penalty area. Mainz midfielder Andreas Ivanschitz stepped up to convert the penalty successfully to make it 2-1 for his side.

It remained a match on high pace in which Mainz extended their lead to 3-1, thanks to Ujah, who sealed his brace at his first Bundesliga match.

Both sides finished the match with ten men as midfielder Eugen Polanski was sent of with a red card for a rude foul play in the 83rd minute while Stuttgart defender Maza booked his second yellow in the 90th minute.

“The relief is great after nine winless matches. Nothing is better than a victory. I am very happy,” said Mainz coach Thomas Tuchel.

Mainz stay on 15th position but extend their gap to drop zone with 12 points.

“We played against twelve men, we had no luck with the referee,” said Stuttgart coach Bruno Labbadia.

Stuttgart stay on sixth position with 18 points.

The following fixtures are set for Saturday: Dortmund vs Wolfsburg, Bremen vs Cologne, Nuremberg vs Freiburg, Hoffenheim vs Kaiserslautern, Berlin vs Monchengladbach, Leverkusen vs Hamburg.