A flying start to the second half lays the foundation! Mainz 05 advance to the Conference League quarter-finals

"It feels really good," said defender Danny da Costa on RTL after the match, "the team did a lot of things right. I think we deserved to go through to the next round." Looking ahead to the final in Leipzig, everyone is allowed to dream, da Costa added, "but we’d be wise to take it one game at a time."

Stefan Posch with his headed goal (46') and Armindo Sieb (82') ensured a historic evening for Mainz 05, whilst Olomouc finished the match with ten men following Peter Barath’s second yellow card (76'). Whilst the Rheinhessen side are battling against relegation in the Bundesliga, the dream of the Conference League final in Leipzig on 28 May lives on. The quarter-finals will be played on 9 and 16 April, with Mainz having home advantage in the first leg.

“We want to believe in ourselves and be brave,” said Mainz coach Urs Fischer ahead of the match on RTL. His players heeded his words: from the outset, the ‘Zero-Fivers’ sought to make their mark in attack. Mainz had the game and their opponents under control, but were also fortunate after 20 minutes when Danijel Sturm narrowly missed giving the visitors the lead.

The match became increasingly even, though it was Mainz who created the next dangerous chance: Phillipp Mwene fired just wide of the right-hand post from distance (35'). Shortly before the half-time whistle, Nelson Weiper missed the next opportunity with a header (45').

The second half began with a bang: Paul Nebel crossed from the right, and Posch headed home to give his side the lead. Spurred on by this, Mainz continued to push forward, with Olomouc barely managing to relieve the pressure. As the second half progressed, the game lost some of its pace, with the visitors remaining largely harmless. Barath’s sending-off played into Mainz’s hands, and Nebel’s resulting free-kick rattled the crossbar (78). But Sieb doubled the lead.