Thaindian News

Berlin, Feb 18 (IANS) Hoffenheim earned the sixth draw in front of home crowd as Mainz equalised after an own goal in the 22nd round of Bundesliga football Friday.

Hoffenheim was able to open the scoring because of an own goal in the ninth minute by Mainz defender Nikolce Noveski, who deflected a shot on target to beat his goalie Christian Wetklo. It is the fifth own goal of the season by Mainz, making it a Bundesliga record.

Mainz got rid of the shock in the 29th minute, thanks to striker Mohamed Zidan who tied the score once he utilized a cross inside penalty area.

In the second half, both sides remained incapable to exploit their chance to part way with a 1-1 result after 90 minutes.

“We were unable to take advantage of our opportunities. We have to be satisfied with the draw,” new Hoffenheim coach Markus Babbel was quoted as saying by Xinhua.

“It was a poor first half of my team, yet we were able to score a goal. This is the third time in row that we shared points which is annoying,” Mainz coach Thomas Tuchel said.

Both side climb up one position. Hoffenheim improved from 11th to 10th position with 26 points while Mainz rose to 12th from 13th with 24 points.

Following matches will be held Saturday: Berlin hosts defending champion and division leader Dortmund; Freiburg faces record champion Bayern; Hamburg encounters Bremen at the northern derby; Leverkusen sees Augsburg; Kaiserslautern meets Monchengladbach and Nuremberg clashes with Cologne.