Mainz could not have asked for a more perfect start to the second half of the season as they hammed Paderborn putting five past Lukas Kruse, winning 5-0, at the Coface Arena in their first match of 2015.

It took just six minutes for Mainz to find the back of the net and it was a strike from Yunus Malli. Malli received the ball in the middle of the eighteen yard box from Pablo De Blasis and the German U-21 international rifled his shot into the bottom left hand corner of the goal, giving the hosts the early lead. Pierre Bengsston missed the target wide, from outside of the box, after Geis’ corner. Mainz would continue to pressure Paderborn’s backline as they looked more and more likely to get a second goal before the halftime interval.

The visitor’s first chance of the match came right at the half hour mark. Lukas Rupp saw his right-footed effort, from just above the six yard box, just miss the target in a chance he really should have done a lot better with. Eight minutes later, Rupp would produce Paderborn’s best chance of the half as he had a shot that screamed off the bar from twenty yards away.

Right after the restart, Malli would find the back of the net once more as De Blasis played a beautiful through ball to Malli. The goal scorer would calmly slip his shot in behind Kruse to get his well deserve brace. Stefan Bell would go close to putting the third into the back of the net for Mainz as his bullet header is hit straight at the Paderborn goalkeeper. Bell would get another chance with his head in the 64th minute of play, but this time his header misses the target.

The roles were reversed in the home sides third goal of the match as it was Malli who provided the assist for the Argentine-born de Blasis. Mainz were the better team this evening and Paderborn never really gave the hosts much of a threat. The O-Fives would get a fourth goal in this match and this time it was through the substitute, Sami Allagui got on the board as well with less than minutes left to go with his header from right above the six yard box.

Allagui was involved in a late penalty for Mainz as Patrick Ziegler dragged him down inside the area. Johannes Geis stepped up to the spot and placed it calmly into the back of the net for their fifth and final goal.