Mainz secure top-eight Conference League finish with victory over Samsunspor

Mainz ran out comfortable winners at home to Turkish outfit Samsunspor in the Conference League this evening.

Urs Fischer maintained his unbeaten start to life at Mainz, marking his home debut with a convincing 2-0 victory at the Mewa Arena. Goals from Silvan Widmer and Nadiem Amiri either side of half-time sealed a top-eight finish for the 05ers and capped an impressive league phase.

Roared on by a lively home crowd, Mainz started on the front foot and came close after just 11 minutes. A low cross from Nelson Weiper was only half-cleared into the path of Amiri, whose effort was blocked heroically from close range. Weiper then nodded the rebound goalwards, only for a second clearance off the line to deny the hosts yet again.

Mainz survived their only genuine scare of the first half somewhat fortuitously midway through the period. Anthony Musaba outmuscled Danny da Costa down the left before picking out Emre Kılınç, but Daniel Batz reacted quickly to smother the initial effort. The rebound fell kindly for Carlo Holse with the goal gaping, yet Kılınç inadvertently blocked his own teammate’s shot on the line to spare Mainz’s blushes.

The pressure eventually told just before the interval. Fine hold-up play from Weiper allowed Jae-Sung Lee to loft a delicate ball into the path of the surging Widmer, who rolled back the years by bursting into the box from the left and calmly slotting past Okan Kocuk to send Mainz into the break with a deserved 1-0 lead.

Fischer’s side wasted little time extending their advantage after the restart. Two minutes into the second half, Lee’s attempted cut-back from a corner struck the raised arm of Lubomir Šatka inside the area, allowing Amiri to step up and confidently fire low past Kocuk from the penalty spot. Mainz were looking impressive and nearly added a third soon after, as Amiri clipped another inviting ball towards Lee, whose volley from inside the box flew narrowly over.

From there, Mainz saw out the contest with professionalism and control, restricting Samsunspor to very little in attack while conserving energy in a measured second-half display.

It proved a perfect end to the league phase for Mainz, finishing in 6th-place while securing direct passage to the round of 16 and a break from European action until March as they focus on their domestic relegation fight. The victory also provides valuable momentum ahead of Sunday’s crucial Bundesliga home clash with St. Pauli. Samsunspor, meanwhile, fail to win for a third consecutive game in the competition and drop out of the top eight.