Berlin April 17 (IANS) Pablo De Blasis brace helped Mainz to move 2-0 past Freiburg in a match of the Bundesliga football championship.
Mainz on Monday returned to winning ways and climbed off the relegation play-off spot after grabbing three vital points following a victory over struggling Freiburg who suffered their fourth straight loss reports Xinhua news agency.
Due to the importance of the game both sides staged a cautious start to the game. Mainz tried to assume control of the proceedings on the pitch whereas Freiburg defended well in their own territory.
The teams neutralised each other s actions on the pitch with the result that clear-cut chances were at a premium in the first 45 minutes.
Just when referee Guido Winkmann whistled for the half time the video referee alerted Winkmann for a consultation regarding a hand ball by Freiburg s Daniel Brosinski inside the box in the dying seconds of the first half.
After consultation both teams had to return to the pitch as Mainz s Pablo De Blasis stepped up to make no mistake opening the scoring from the penalty spot. Hence Mainz took a 1-0 advantage into the break.
After the restart Freiburg pressed forward and tried to turn things around. However things went from bad to worse as goalkeeper Alexander Schwolow s intercepted pass allowed Robin Quaison to set up for De Blasis who poked home his second of the night into the open goal in the 79th minute.
Christian Streich s men threw everything up front but it wasn t enough as Nils Petersen rattled only the woodwork in the closing period.
With the result Mainz snapped their six-game winless run to move on to the 15th place and out of the drop zone whereas Freiburg slipped to the 16th position and into the relegation battle.
--IANS
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