Schalke came from behind twice to earn a 2-2 draw on the road against Mainz.
Mainz vs. Schalke: Final score 2-2, Bastos scores twice as Schalke come from behind for draw
Schalke came from behind twice thanks to goals from Michel Bastos to earn a point on the road against Mainz.
Alex Grimm
Andreas Ivanschitz opened the scoring with a well taken goal after 27 minutes. Nicolai Müller skipped past Christian Fuchs on the left side and sent in a low cross. Ivanschitz managed to get his sliding shot past Timo Hildebrand to put Schalke behind the eight ball once again.
Schalke fans could finally breathe a little easier just before halftime. Jermaine Jones saw his long shot saved by Christian Wetklo, but Raffael was on hand to corral the rebound. The Brazilian calmly slid the ball over to his countryman Michel Bastos who finished to make it 1-1. The goal is Bastos' second since joining Schalke in the January transfer window.
Mainz jumped back out to a 2-1 lead in the 63rd minute. Ivanschitz found Zdenek Pospech streaking down the right and fed him the ball. The defender took one touch before ripping his shot past Hildebrand and into the back of the net.
The hosts nearly added another a few minutes later. Adam Szalai set up Elkin Soto after some excellent ballwork, but Roman Neustädter managed to get back in time to throw Soto off. The forward’s shot went wide of the target.
Jens Keller turned to Max Meyer to make a difference in the match. The 17 year old was making his Bundesliga debut for the club, and he was quick to make his presence felt. Just ten minutes after coming on the pitch, Meyer had his first professional assist after Bastos scored his second to make it 2-2.
The fact that Schalke came from behind twice to earn a draw against a tough Mainz side will be encouraging, but the fact that they had to come back twice to earn a draw will be slightly discouraging. Mainz will be disappointed to have dropped points at home in the race for a Europa League place.
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