Bundesliga: Wasteful Borussia Dortmund Draw 1-1 with Mainz to Stretch Winless Run

Borussia Dortmund were held to a 1-1 draw by visitors Mainz 05 in their final Bundesliga game of the year on Tuesday to make it four league matches without a win, piling more pressure on embattled coach Edin Terzic.

Dortmund dominated in a strong start, hitting the woodwork through Jamie Bynoe-Gittens and missing a string of golden chances with Mainz defending desperately.

They took the lead with a curled Julian Brandt free kick in the 29th minute and almost added another seconds later as a Marcel Sabitzer shot bounced off the crossbar.

Their wastefulness was punished two minutes before the break when Mainz scored with their first chance of the game as Sepp van den Berg’s header from close range crossed the line.

Gio Reyna thought he had snatched a 90th-minute winner for the hosts but his effort was ruled offside, leaving Dortmund, with just one win from their last eight league games, in fifth place on 27 points.

“It sucks to go into the break with a draw or defeat,” goalscorer Brandt told TV network Sat 1.

“The current situation… it’s not easy.”

“It’s not always the coach’s fault,” Dortmund captain Emre Can told Sky. “We’ve made progress in the Champions League.”

“If the ball hits the crossbar instead of going into the net it’s got nothing to do with him.”

“The game showed those two faces we show too often in our game. We had a good start. We created many chances, allowed very little at the back and could have led by more and before the break we conceded the goal,” Terzic said.

“It was a disappointing evening and we go into the winter break with this disappointment.”

Terzic said he had no doubt that he would still be in charge in the new year despite their bad run.

“Obviously I believe that,” Terzic said when asked if he would still be Dortmund coach when the league resumed on Jan. 12.

“That is the task I and the team have: to show a different face in the second half of the season.”

The Ruhr valley club, runners-up last season, are already 12 points off the top and four points off fourth-placed VfB Stuttgart, occupying the last Champions League spot, who are in action on Wednesday.

(With inputs from Agencies)