Berlin, Oct 17 (IANS) Mainz overcame Darmstadt 2-1 thanks to goals from Pablo De Blasis and Yunus Malli while Emil Forsberg secured Leipzig a 1-0 win at Wolfsburg at the close of the 7th round in the German Bundesliga.
Mainz extended Darmstadt's win-less run to five games and reaped their third victory from seven season games on Sunday evening, reports Xinhua.
The "Nuellfuenfer" caught a bright start on the home front as Pablo De Blasis tapped home Gaetan Bussmann's chip into the box to break the deadlock with just five minutes played.
Mainz controlled the reins and Laszlo Kleinheisler almost levelled the scores but his volley effort only managed to rattle the woodwork in the 18th minute.
The hosts should have added a second goal to their lead but Jhon Cordoba failed to hit the open goal after rounding Darmstadt's goalkeeper Michael Esser 20 minutes into the game.
Cordoba came close again in the 36th minute but his header on target dropped off the bar.
Darmstadt had the chance to grab the equalizer out of the blue as Stefan Bell fouled Antonio-Mirko Colak inside the box to cause a penalty in the closing period of the first half.
Colak stepped up but custodian Jonas Loessel saved the striker's shot on target.
Things went from bad to worse following the interval as Aytac Sulu caused a foul play after bringing down Yunus Malli inside the box. The offensive midfielder kept his nerves and converted the penalty to make the game safe in the 57th minute.
Darmstadt lacked in penetration but they were nonetheless able to mark their consolation in the dying minutes of the game as Jerome Gondorf slotted home a foul play penalty.
Mainz thus moved to seventh place, while Darmstadt slipped to 15th position in the standings.
Elsewhere, newcomers Leipzig extend their unbeaten run after upsetting struggling Wolfsburg 1-0, courtesy Emil Forsberg's second-half winner.
With their surprising fourth win of the season, Leipzig jumped on the third place while Wolfsburg slumped to 14th. The Wolves have been waiting for their second win since the first round.
--IANS
ajb/mr
