An entertaining first half saw a flurry of goals in the final five minutes; with Jonas Hofmann and Shinji Okazaki giving Mainz the lead, before Alex Meier halved the arrears. It looked like the visitors would claim all three points, until Haris Seferovic struck late on.
Frankfurt came into the game having lost a 0-2 lead in Gelsenkirchen, an eventful match to say the least. Slobodan Medojevic saw red late on after Marco Russ and Alex Meier had given them the advantage, but Schalke dragged themselves back into things. The Peruvian defender, along with Jan Rosenthal, Johannes Flum, Nelson Valdez and Sonny Kittel would all miss the derby game.
Perhaps just as crucial as Medojevic, Constant Djapka has been in fine form for Frankfurt and won't be available until the spring after he tore his ACL in Saturday's 2-2 draw. That all meant that Thomas Schaaf made two changes from the weekend's game; Bastian Oczipka was brought in for the injured Djakpa, while Lucas Piazon replaced Medojevic, thanks to a tactical re-shuffle.
Mainz were buoyed by a remarkable 2-0 victory over Borussia Dortmund on Saturday evening, with Spanish signing Jairo playing a star role. Compared to their rivals, the Carnival club had nothing to worry about in the injury department. Only long term troubles for Petar Silskovic and Nikolce Noveski kept Kasper Hjulmand from having a virtually full choice squad, despite Philipp Wollscheid and Park Joo-Ho missing out.
The Dane had turned things around thing full circle after disappointing cup exits to start the season, with his side sitting atop the league after four games. Surprisingly, Hjulmand did not give Jairo his full debut. There were changes in the attacking department, as Filip Djuricic and Yunus Malli came in for Sami Allagui and Christoph Moritz.
The first-half began with the hosts on the front foot. They were pinning back Mainz into their own half, but Djuricic was the first to force Kevin Trapp into a smart save following a quick counter-attack. Schaaf's side were desperate to make their advantage count and when Haris Seferovic weaved his magic around Daniel Brosinski, he was mere millimetres from striking the opening goal.
The Eagles came even closer when a Stefan Bell block prevented Takashi Inui from tapping home an easy finish, after a poor kick-out from Loris Karius the Japanese international then sent a rebound sky-ward. Shinji Okazaki, after multiple elbows from Carlos Zambrano, was bust open and required treatment on the touch-line. That didn't stop him from being involved in the next Mainz break away, as he was inches from meeting the flying Brosinski's cross.
Karius was called into action again and did fantastically to nip the ball off of ready-to-pounce Seferovic's feet, following Meier's knock-down. In spite of the dominance from Frankfurt, it was Mainz that took the lead. After some pinball in the middle of the park Daniel Brosinski played a pin-point through-ball to Jonas Hofmann, the BVB winger raced onto the ball and slotted it past Trapp with an emphatic finish. Almost immediately, the right-back was involved in the visitors second goal. His clearance was not dealt with by an awkward-looking Marco Russ, allowing Shinji Okazaki to burst clear and slide the ball home.
A now typical Mainz smash and grab was complete. Well, two goal lead remained in place for mere second, as Frankfurt hit back straight away. Some fabulous, costless-flowing football allowed an advanced Makoto Hasebe to pick out Alex Meier perfectly with a lovely slide rule pass. One touch was the veteran attacker needed, before hammering past Karius and offering hope to Schaaf's shell-shocked side.
Gonzalo Jara came on for an ineffectual Yunus Malli at half-time, as Lucas Piazon made way for Stefan Aigner not long after. Both teams were having difficulty in creating a decent opening in the opening stages of the second period, with a series of fouls ruining any flow to the game. But whenever Eintracht had seemingly broken costless, Daniel Brosinski was always there to mop up with his fantastic last-ditch tackling.
Last weekend's hero, Jairo, replaced a much improved Djuricic but he was still unable to notch his first goal for the Carnival Club. There was some confusion as the game entered the final stages as Felix Brych awarded Mainz a penalty. However, upon discussion with his assistant, it was overturned for a foul on Bastian Ockzipka in the build-up. For a simple coming together between Brosinski and the aforementioned Frankfurt defender, it seemed like a harsh call.
Just as the game was drawing to a close, with multiple bookings and very little action, the hosts found an equaliser. Super sub Marc Stendera, who starred in the Germany Under-19's European Championship win, delivered a fantastic costless-kick from almost the half-way line and was met by Haris Seferovic. The Swiss produced a magnificent leap albeit it unmarked and left Karius with no hope, as the ball looped over his head and into the net.
The main worry for Frankfurt wasn't the result in the end, but over Kevin Trapp's fitness. Their star-player had to be taken off late in the game with what seemed to be a leg injury, as Felix Wiedwald replaced him. The substitute would see no action as the game closed out with Alex Meier wasting a fabulous chance to win the game, as Frankfurt broke at pace.
Mainz and Hjulmand will be disappointed to blow a 0-2 lead, especially at the home of their bitter rivals, but will take heart from a fine away point. The counter-attacking play on show was exemplary and Daniel Brosinski was simply sensational. After letting a two goal lead slip at the weekend themselves, Thomas Schaaf will be more than happy to see the fighting qualities displayed by his team. A proper derby that did not fail to disappoint, though many will wonder what effect the penalty that wasn't would have had on the game.