Late goals hand Marie-Louise Eta’s first Bundesliga win in Mainz

Marie-Louise Eta registered her first win as a Bundesliga coach as Union Berlin beat Mainz courtesy of two late goals. The visitors had the better chances throughout the game, although Mainz were unfortunate not to take the lead earlier in a lively second-half.

Compared to the first two games on Sunday, the closing fixture of matchday 33 lacked big moments in the first-half. However, it didn’t end goalless either as Andrej Ilić scored his tenth Bundesliga goal in the 38th minute.

Before the Serbian’s goal, the biggest highlight of the half was the traveling fans forcing the game to be postponed for nearly ten minutes by throwing tennis balls. The rare timeslot isn’t welcomed by away fans since it usually means they will not return home before the early hours of Monday.

Union Berlin started the game brightly, while Urs Fischer was forced to make an early substitution. Danny da Costa couldn’t continue the game after trying to play through pain for ten minutes.

The visitors took the lead with their first clear-cut chance after a change of approach in their corner-kick. Ilić, who also had a strong finish to last season, headed home from Aljoscha Kemlein’s delivery.

Carl Klaus was crucial to keep them ahead before the break as the 32-year-old denied the lively Kaishū Sano from close range. The backup goalkeeper made his Bundesliga debut when Frederik Rönnow went off injured early in Union Berlin’s last game away from home in Leipzig.

However, he wasn’t able to keep the former Unioner Sheraldo Becker from tying the game three minutes after the restart. The Suriname international provided a smart finish from Paul Nebel’s delivery from the right wing. Becker initially decided not to celebrate his goal before a cheeky dance at the end before play resumes.

Ten minutes later, Phillip Tietz thought he had put his side ahead for the first time with a similarly difficult finish, but the goal was chalked off for a tight offside decision. The game suddenly came to life as both goalkeepers made decent saves between the two “goals” by Mainz.

Fischer finally handed Robin Zentner his first game since his return from injury as Daniel Batz sat on the bench for his last home game before completing a move to Borussia Mönchengladbach.

Zentner and Klaus had a quieter time after the Tietz incident as the game returned to its uneventful spell. However, Union nearly got their lead back when Ilić rattled the crossbar with a sublime effort five minutes before time.

A draw would have been enough for Mainz to finish ahead of Union Berlin, but late drama was on the cards. Oliver Burke restored Union’s lead with a brilliant finish in the 88th minute before their last two substitutes combined for the goal that sealed the three points.

Tim Skarke, who just replaced the Scotsman after his heroics, set up Josip Juranovic’s first goal of an injury-riddled season. As a result, Union Berlin ended a six-game winless streak with one of the team’s strengths since the arrival of the first female coach in top-five leagues – late goals.

Mainz will end the season away at Heidenheim, who are playing for safety. Union Berlin will host Augsburg in hopes of back-to-back wins. Sensationally, Augsburg still have a chance to qualify for the Europa Conference League.