体坛英语新闻：Mainz deny Nuremberg's first Bundesliga victory

BERLIN, Dec. 6 (Xinhua) -- Nuremberg wasted a 1-0 lead against Mainz to set a negative record of 15 winless matches, at the opener of the 15th round of German Bundesliga on Friday.

Nuremberg nearly grabbed their first three points but Shinji Okazaki's 1-1 equalizer flabbergasted the hosts at the 75th minute. Thus, Nuremberg suffered their ninth draw at the 15th game to remain winless in as many matches.

The hosts caught a bright start on home soil when Per Nilsson headed home Hiroshi Kiyotake's pinpoint cross from very close range with just five minutes into the game.

Nuremberg set the tone for most of the time but failed to extend the lead on home soil. However, the visitors stunned the " Club" as Shinji Okazaki finished an assist by Joo-Ho Park to restore parity fifteen minutes before the final whistle.

The equalizer took the wind out of Nuremberg's sails as Mainz almost snatched a late winner. But, neither Eric-Maxim Choupo- Moting nor Nicolai Mueller were able to beat Nuremberg's custodian Raphael Schaefer in the dying minutes of the match.

The visitors finished the match with ten-men as Petar Sliskovic saw a straight red card following a rude foul play to Nuremberg's goalkeeper. "We staged a good game until the 75th minute but then Mainz scored the equalizer with their first chance," Nuremberg coach Gertjan Verbeek said.

"I can live with the result. We have struggled for 70 minutes to gain a foothold into the match," Mainz coach Thomas Tuchel said.

Struggling Nuremberg stick on 17th place, a relegation spot, meanwhile Mainz climb from 8th to 7th position for now.

The following matches are scheduled for Saturday: Bremen see front runners Bayern Munich, third places Dortmund meet runner up Leverkusen, Monchengladbach face Schalke, Stuttgart host Hannover, Hamburg encounter Ausgburgs and Hoffenheim visit Frankfurt.