No side had ever survived relegation at this stage of a Bundesliga campaign after sitting bottom of the pile eight points adrift of safety. Despite that daunting statistic, it did not stop Kiel from coming close to breaking the deadlock after 10 minutes.
Put through on goal by Steven Skrzybski’s delightful delivery into the danger zone, Nicolai Remberg must have thought he just had to get his shot on target to celebrate his first goal of the season. However, the midfielder didn't account for Robin Zentner racing off his line to deny him.
An all-action opening continued nine minutes later as Paul Nebel’s defence-splitting pass put Jonathan Burkardt in one-on-one with Thomas Dähne. However, despite beating Kiel’s newly-installed number one, Mainz’s top scorer left disappointed as the right-hand post denied him his 16th league goal of the season.
Straight back up the opposite end, Zentner was called into action as he acrobatically redirected Shūto Machino’s goalbound header over the bar. Sensationally, Zentner was finally beaten in the 34th minute as Alexander Bernhardsson curled a contender for the goal of the season straight into the top corner from just outside the area.
Falling behind seemed to spring Mainz into life following the restart. Following several efforts that flew off-target, the hosts hit the upright twice in quick succession, as Anthony Caci’s header struck the foot of the post, shortly before Skrzybski also struck the woodwork.
Mainz’s determination was eventually rewarded not long after Nikolas Veratschnig had seen his effort ruled out for offside, as fellow second-half substitute Weiper confidently dispatched Nebel’s pinpoint pass past Dähne.
A frustrating afternoon leaves Mainz now only a point ahead of fifth-placed RB Leipzig as the battle to qualify for the next season’s UEFA Champions League continues. Meanwhile, Bundesliga basement boys Kiel remain on course for an immediate return to the second tier of German football.