You probably only score from your own half once in a lifetime. When it’s not even enough to secure a draw, it’s doubly bitter. The MSV U19 keeper experienced a rollercoaster of emotions.

MSV Duisburg suffered a 1-2 defeat at FSV Mainz 05 in their opening game of the DFB Youth League in Group G.

But how it happened seems very strange. Mika Preßler put FSV ahead in the 13th minute, and the score remained unchanged until stoppage time. Then came the moment of MSV keeper Laurenz Jenissen. The goalkeeper took a free kick from behind the center line, with the rest of the players gathered around the Mainz penalty area. The free kick from almost 60 meters, which MSV presented on the “X” platform, got longer and longer, all the players missed the ball, and even the Mainz goalkeeper was surprised by the bouncing attempt. But the boundless jubilation over the late equalizer lasted only two minutes. The FSV had another answer to the shock. Once again, it was Preßler who sent the “Zebra” talents on an emotional rollercoaster ride.

Coach Marcus Jahn summed up the game to the club’s media: “I’ve rarely seen a team really try 100 percent to implement everything we worked on in preparation in the first game. The boys didn’t retreat in any way after going 0-1 down. We were stable both mentally and physically, as well as tactically, and put up maximum resistance.”

It felt like the heart we left on the pitch was being torn out of us a little bit

Marcus Jahn

That’s how the late 1-1 equalizer came about, which was history again in the 93rd minute. Jahn on the late shock: “It felt like the heart we left on the pitch had been ripped out of us. But that will certainly be important for our development at some point. We’ve seen that we’re definitely competitive at this level.” On the second matchday, MSV faces a similarly difficult task. On Sunday (August 10, 11 a.m.), 1. FC Köln comes to Westender Straße. FC won its opening game against Fortuna Düsseldorf 2-0.