‘A reward for hard work’ - Mwene revels in maiden Bundesliga goal vs Hertha Berlin

Phillipp Mwene is pleased to have scored his first German top-flight goal as Mainz played out a 1-1 draw with Hertha Berlin on Monday evening.

In the low-scoring affair, Lucas Tousart had given the visitors a 36th minute lead after heading Marton Dardai’s free-kick past goalkeeper Robin Zentner.

Four minutes later, the 27-year-old levelled matter for the 05ers thanks to a stunning effort that goalkeeper Alexander Schwolow had no chance of stopping.

With both sides failing to find the net in the second half, the affair staged at the Opel Arena ended on a no winner no vanquished note.

Having ended his wait for a Bundesliga goal, the Kenya prospect stated that his industry eventually paid off against Pal Dardai’s side.

He is also excited that Mainz could bounce back despite conceding first, nevertheless, he would have fancied his team picking up all points at stake.

“We take the point with us, even though we had of course planned to win today,” Mwene told the club website.

“We started well, could have taken the lead early on. At the opposite end, we slept and the least expected happened to us.

“After that, we responded well. I was very happy about my goal, it was a reward for the hard work over the last few weeks.

“Now, we have three more games in which we want to make move clearly from the relegation zone as early as possible."

As a result of this draw, Mainz now occupy the 12th position on the German elite division log after accruing 35 points from 31 fixtures.

They would be hoping to extend their unbeaten league run to nine when they travel to the Deutsche Bank Park for their clash versus Adi Hutter’s Eintracht Frankfurt on Sunday.

Eintracht Frankfurt - who boast of Angola's Jabez Makanda and Morocco's Aymen Barkok - are fourth on the log with 56 points.

Victory for them would brighten their chances for a Champions League ticket next season.

Mwene joined Mainz from third division side Kaiserslautern in 2018 on a three-year contract for an undisclosed fee. He is eligible to represent the Harambee Stars on the international scene.