BERLIN, Oct. 23 (Xinhua) -- Mainz 05 maintained its perfect start to the UEFA Conference League with a 1-0 win over HSK Zrinjski Mostar on Thursday.

Nelson Weiper scored midway through the first half to secure the German club's second straight group-stage victory. Head coach Bo Henriksen made sweeping changes from the Bundesliga defeat to Leverkusen, rotating nine players, but his side dictated play from the outset.

The home team began energetically, with early chances for Sota Kawasaki and Andreas Hanche-Olsen narrowly missing the target. Zrinjski, known for disciplined defending, offered little going forward and sat deep to frustrate Mainz.

That approach was broken in the 24th minute. After a ball recovery by Hanche-Olsen, Silvan Widmer crossed for Ben Bobzien, who redirected the ball toward Weiper. The striker hit the post before finishing the rebound for the game's only goal.

The visitors' task grew harder when Igor Savic was shown a straight red card in the 38th minute for a dangerous tackle on Bobzien. Reduced to 10 men, Zrinjski never recovered, while Mainz controlled possession without the same intensity in attack.

Early in the second half, Mainz nearly doubled the lead when goalkeeper Goran Karacic failed to deal with a corner, but the scramble came to nothing. Efforts from Lennard Maloney and Armindo Sieb went wide, and a late penalty call was correctly overturned after a VAR review.

Despite the lack of a second goal, Mainz stayed composed and saw out a deserved win to remain top of the group with two wins from two. Mainz next faces Fiorentina on Nov. 6, then visits Stuttgart in the Bundesliga on Sunday, followed by a DFB-Pokal tie against the same opponent three days later. ■