Despite coming back from two goals down, Darmstadt were eventually put to the sword by Mainz. Martin Schmidt's side came out on the right side of a 3-2 score-line, though it wasn't without the latest of late dramas.
Goals fly in early on
In what was a fairly average opening to the game that was full of midfield tussles, the first chance brought a goal with it. Danny Latza, who was doing a fine job in the middle of the park, produced an excellent delivery from the left. His free-kick was met at the front post by Stefan Bell, and his header rocketed past the helpless Christian Mathenia.
One soon became two, as Yunus Malli struck within ten minutes of Mainz going ahead to continue his excellent run of form. An powerful strike swerved into the bottom corner like an arrow, leaving the hosts shell-shocked. Schmidt's side were well worth their lead and were well on top after the opening half of the first period.
That was all to change just three minutes later, as Dirk Schuster and his men brought themselves back into the game. Marcel Heller is the Lilies' answer to Malli, and he was the man to pop up with the goal. Some stellar build-up play saw Jerome Gondorf find Heller, who burst past Daniel Brosinski before finishing with aplomb to score his fourth of the season.
Wagner wastes glorious chance at the death
Marco Sailer's arrival at half-time for Jan Rosenthal, who went largely unnoticed, would eventually pay off but the Mainz defence dealt with any early Darmstadt attacks with ease. It was that solid base that looked to be setting them up for the win, but Sailer had other ideas. Heller and Konstantin Rausch made their way forward before the latter found Sailer free in the area to bring the hosts level.
There was to be another quick twist in the game and Mainz made it three-two in the aftermath. Some more great play from Malli and Yoshinori Muto involved the Japanese international turning two defenders before shooting towards goal. Mathenia made the save but Pablo de Blasis was on hand to turn home the rebound and put them back in front.
Chances fell at either end but it was the final kick of the game that proved the best of the lot. Luca Caldirola went down under Gonzalo Jara's challenge in the area, with Florian Meyer pointing to the spot. Sandro Wagner was the man tasked with sealing a draw, but he ballooned over the bar and sunk to the the turf. Darmstadt were beaten, though it could so easily have been draw.