Stuttgart complete Mainz double with cup victory
| Stuttgart's Angelo Stiller is fouled by Dominik Kohr of Mainz. | Alex Grimm/Getty Images |
Mainz, without head coach Bo Henriksen on the touchline following his red card in the opening round against Dynamo Dresden, got off to the worst possible start.
Looking to win against tonight's opponents for the second time in four days, Stuttgart took the lead after just six minutes, when Luca Jaquez steamed into the six-yard box to power home from a Bilal El Khannouss corner - the Swiss defender's first professional goal.
The opening period remained feisty, and Stuttgart thought they should have had a penalty when Deniz Undav was bundled over by Andreas Hanche-Olsen inside the penalty area - had VAR been in use during the Pokal's early rounds, VfB would likely have found themselves with a chance to double their lead from twelve yards.
Mainz had a lot of the ball throughout the first half, with the clash being disjointed for large periods; however, Die Nullfünfer failed to trouble Fabian Bredlow in between the sticks for Stuttgart.
Undav let rip with a powerful volley inside the box at the beginning of the second half following a poor Mainz clearance, with the ball whistling just wide of Robin Zentner's goal - a reminder of the quality possessed by Stuttgart in the final third.
Nelson Weiper saw a low effort drift wide of the post in the 62nd minute, with both sides wrestling for control of the match.
Substitute Chris Führich sent an effort over the bar with just his second touch of the ball after being slipped through by Undav, with VfB in need of a second to calm the nerves. And they found it just under three minutes later, via captain Atakan Karazor.
After an excellent drive from Führich, the wideman found Undav, who sent a lovely layoff into the path of the midfielder, who swept the ball into the far left corner at the end housing the travelling contingent from Cannstatt.
With Die Schwaben seeing out the match through seven minutes of added time, the DFB-Pokal holders would book their place in the round of 16, while Mainz's winless domestic run continues to stretch back to their 4-1 triumph against Augsburg in September.
VfB turn their attention to a trip to Leipzig this weekend, while Mainz welcome Werder Bremen to Mewa Arena - where Henriksen's side are in desperate need of three points.
