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Bundesliga

Mar 7, 2015 at 5.30pm UK

Mainz Mainz 05
2-2
Borussia M'bach Borussia Monchengladbach

Geis (73'), Okazaki (77')

FT(HT: 0-1)

Raffael (27', 67')

Match Report

Football

Mainz 05 fight back to hold Borussia Monchengladbach

By Joe Fish, Reporter | 07 March 2015

Johannes Geis and Shinji Okazaki score within the space of three minutes to cancel out Raffael's double as Mainz draw 2-2 with Borussia Monchengladbach in the Bundesliga.

Mainz 05 staged a late fightback to come from two down and deny Borussia Monchengladbach maximum points in the Bundesliga this evening.

Johannes Geis and Shinji Okazaki each scored within the space of three minutes to cancel out Raffael's double and earn their side a 2-2 home draw.

Raffael put Gladbach ahead on 27 minutes as he glanced a whipped Ibrahima Traore cross past Loris Karius for his sixth goal of the season.

Mainz nearly equalised with a first-half header of their own as reported Leicester City target Okazaki nodded Christian Clemens's set piece against the crossbar.

Gladbach doubled their advantage on 67 minutes as Raffael applied the finishing touches to a smart team move which saw Max Kruse step over Fabian Johnson's cross.

The hosts are the top scorers in the bottom half of the table and pulled one back when Geis struck a long-range free kick through a crowd of bodies and into the corner.

Kruse almost restored Gladbach's cushion immediately as he fired a shot against the post, but Mainz survived that close shave to equalise when Stefan Bell delivered for Okazaki to head them level on 77 minutes.

The Japanese nearly completed Mainz's comeback and stole his side victory with another header which was kept out by Yann Sommer as third-placed Gladbach settled for a point which perhaps should have been three.