Americans Abroad

Casey scores for FSV Mainz, but VfL Wolfsburg wins 4-3.

(Monday, November 1, 2004) - United States striker Conor Casey scored his first league goal of the season Saturday, but FSV Mainz 05 came up short in an exciting 4-3 road loss when Martin Petrov scored four times for 1Bundesliga-leading VfL Wolfsburg.

Two minutes after Mathias Abel scored in the 15th minute, Casey sent a laser shot from the right side of the penalty area to the far post, past Wolfsburg goalkeeper Simon Jentzsch and into the net to make it 2-0.

Mainz was unable to maintain the level of play it established early after playmaker Mimoun Azaouagh left the game in the 21st minute with what turned out to be a serious knee injury that will require surgery and a rehabilitation of several months. Nonetheless, Wolfsburg (8-3, 24 points) pulled even at 2-2 in first-half stoppage time when Martin Petrov scored twice, the equalizer after a nice combination in the box with Thomas Bdaric.

In the second half, the Petrov show continued when he put away a disputed penalty kick in the 57th minute -- Jürgen Kramny was sent off with a red card for a hand ball on his goal line -- and made it 4-2 five minutes later.

Shorthanded, Mainz fought back and pulled to within 4-3 when Christof Babatz scored off a set piece with 15 minutes to play.

On Wednesday. Mainz defeated Hansa Rostock 3-1 at home. Casey came off the bench for the last 20 minutes and assisted Kramny on the final Mainz goal in stoppage time.

Mainz (5-3-3, 18) is in seventh place and hosts Borussia Mönchengladbach Saturday.

U.S. defender Steve Cherundolo assisted the decisive tally for Hannover 96 which recorded a convincing 3-0 victory over VfL Bochum Saturday. In the 17th minute, having been pushed toward the corner flag by two Bochum defenders, Cherundolo sent a long-range pass to the far post where striker Thomas Christiansen hammered into the net for a 1-0 lead.

Hannover (6-3-2, 20), which has won five in a row, also defeated 1. FC Kaiserslautern 3-1 Wednesday with Cherundolo not dressed because of a mild concussion he received in the October 23 against Mönchengladbach. Hannover is tied for third place with VfB Stuttgart and Bayern München, both also 6-3-2. On Saturday, Hannover travels to Munich to face off against Bayern, the perennial German powerhouse.

U.S striker Clint Mathis did not dress for either Hannover game.

Against Trier, Cottbus thought it had drawn even in the 88th minute on Steffen Baumgart's header, but the assistant referee ruled the ball was saved by the goalkeeper and did not cross the goal-line. Television replays were inconclusive.

Cottbus (3-4-4, 13) is tied for 11th place in the 18-team league, but only two points above the relegation zone. To make matters worse, the team is losing the support of a vocal minority of fans who have been calling with chants and signs for the firing of Cottbus trainer Eduard Geyer. Geyer has been with the club for 10 years and is mostly responsible for pulling the team out of the ashes of East Germany and establishing it in the top two German professional leagues.

Cottbus hosts Rot-Weiss Erfurt, which employs American striker John van Buskirk in a Sunday match.

Erfurt (2-4-5, 11) earned four crucial points against top clubs in its two games this wee0k, moving from the cellar to a three-way tie for 13th place. Teams in 15th to 18th place are relegated.

On Wednesday, Efurt defeated Alemannia Aachen 1-0 and then drew 0-0 with MSV Duisburg Sunday..

Van Buskirk was a late substitute against Aachen and did not see action against Duisburg.

In Germany's third-division Regionalliga Nord, American striker Ryan Coiner scored in the 41st and 60th minutes - giving him five for the season -- to lead 1. FC Union Berlin to its first victory in 10 games, 2-1 over the visiting Werder Bremen Amateurs. Berlin (3-9-2, 11) moved from 18th to 17th in the 19-team league, still five points from clearing the relegation zone.

American defender Ian Joy did not play for the host Hamburger SV Amateurs who lost 2-1 to Eintracht Braunschweig. Hamburg (9-4-1, 28) dropped from first to third place.

American midfielder Joe Enochs went the distance for VfL Osnabrück which could do no better than a 2-2 draw against the last-place VfL Wolfsburg Amateurs at home Saturday. After going ahead in the first half, Osnabrück allowed Wolfsburg back in the game and, if not for a second-half equalizer from Thomas Reichenberger, would have lost. Osnabrück (5-4-5, 21) dropped from eighth to ninth place, seven points below a promotion spot, seven points above the drop zone.

On Saturday VfB Lübeck (6-5-4, 23) drew Arminia Bielefeld 1-1 on the road to move up a spot into sixth place. American striker Jacob Thomas did not play after leaving Lübeck's last game with an injury after 27 minutes.

On Saturday, Standard faces 17th-place Mons with second-place Anderlecht looming November 10.

Chris Courtney contributed to this report from Belgium

Harris King, an American from South Carolina, has lived in Germany for five years. He is a Business English lecturer at the University of Bamberg. E-mail Harris King.