Berlin: Struggling Dortmund returned to winning ways after beating Mainz with two second-half goals in the opener of the 16th round of Bundesliga football action.
As the first game of new head coach Peter Stoeger, Borussia Dortmund were able to snap their eight-game winless run as goals from Sokratis and Shinji Kagawa were enough to edge Mainz on the road on Tuesday, reports Xinhua news agency.
Mainz grabbed a promising start going into the game as Suat Serdar came close with six minutes played after rattling the crossbar from 18 meters. The midfielder remained in the thick of things as he had another chance to open the scoring, but he pulled the assist from Emil Berggreen over the target at 13 minutes of play.
As the match progressed, Dortmund assumed control of the ball but were unable to produce clear-cut opportunities. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang wasted Dortmund’s best chance before the break as he missed the target from inside the box.
After the restart, the “BVB” increased the pressure and their efforts were eventually rewarded 55 minutes into the match as Mainz were unable to clear a free kick cross, allowing Sokratis to drill the ball past Mainz goalkeeper Robin Zentner.
Mainz remained dangerous and collected a number of chances but they lacked in accuracy to restore parity. Dortmund punished the host’s wastefulness after Shinji Kagawa benefitted on a square pass from Aubameyang to seal all three points.
With the victory, Dortmund secured their first victory since October and jumped to 4th place for the moment, whereas Mainz slumped to 15th place after suffering their eighth loss of the season.(IANS)