Schalke draw with Mainz in coach Grammozis' debut

GELSENKIRCHEN, Germany (Reuters) - Bundesliga basement club Schalke 04 drew 0-0 at home to Mainz 05 in their relegation derby on Friday in coach Dimitris Grammozis' debut on the Royal Blues' bench.

The Greek took over this week following the sacking of Christian Gross and became Schalke's fifth coach this season with the team anchored in last place.

The draw leaves Schalke on 10 points, with Mainz in 16th - the relegation playoff spot - level on 18 points with second-bottom Arminia Bielefeld, who host Union Berlin on Sunday.

Schalke, who had to make do without midfielder Amine Harit after his injury during the warm-up, came close to scoring after 18 minutes with a Shkodran Mustafi header.

Although Mainz had to wait until the 38th minute for their first chance through Leandro Barreiro, the visitors gradually took control of the game and had several efforts on goal in the closing stages of the first half.

Schalke were on the back foot after the break once more and Danish goalkeeper Riis Ronnow was kept busy with his team doing very little in terms of attacking.

(Reporting by Karolos Grohmann; Editing by Ken Ferris)