Despite this, S04 trainer Thomas Reis expressed confidence that his team could remain competitive and build on their recent win. In squad news, the Königsblauen gaffer strongly hinted at a start for the surging Dominick Drexler.
“Perhaps they’ve caught us at the right moment,” Reis noted, “We’d like to show them that they’ve come at the right time. If the team invests everything, it can be competitive.”
Reis had special praise for his defensive unit after they kept a clean sheet against a high-scoring threat like Mainz midweek. The red hot FSV attack of Karim Onisiwo, Marcus Ingvartsen, and (later) Jonathan Burkardt very quiet.
Though there were some finishing issues at the Mainzer end, Reis called attention to the manner in which his injury-ravaged back-line stood up for one another and defended passionately as a unit.
Henning Matriciani’s game-saving tackle on Onisiwo at 90+6 was, per Reis, “indicative of the whole game.”
“He [Drexler] came on and helped us bring home the win,” Reis said of the 32-year-old’s performance against Mainz, “There’s a possibility of him playing from the start.”
