FC Köln prove too hot to handle for Augsburg
FC Köln beat Augsburg 3-2 in a game that may overshadow 'Super Sunday'. Steffen Tigges proved too much for an Augsburg defence as, despite some setbacks, he led his side to a much deserved victory.
| Jonas Hector. | Photo: Sandro Halank, Wikimedia Commons, CC-BY-SA 4.0 |
Despite some early chances for the hosts it would be Augsburg to take the lead as a beautiful direct ball by Frederik Winther caught the Köln defence sleeping. Florian Niederlechner picked the ball out of the sky with consummate ease as the touch from his chest was hit first time across goal over the trailing leg of Schwäbe to find the far corner.
It was a move that gave Augsburg all the confidence in the world as they believed they doubled the lead soon after. A throw-in that was flicked on by Ermedin Demirovic found Mergim Berisha who looped a header in over Schwäbe. However, after a VAR review, they agreed with the linesman on the far side that Berisha was judged to be narrowly offside.
In an attempt to draw level it was once again the Köln right-hand side venturing forward with intent. A subsequent cross was not dealt with by the Augsburg defence and after the ball had been bouncing around it was Steffen Tigges whose strike looked to have bundled into the goal. Nevertheless, it was Ruben Vargas to the rescue who cleared the ball off the line to keep Augsburg’s lead intact.
An enthralling first half had seen chances come and go for Köln on their quest to equal the tie. On the other hand, Augsburg had taken their chance when it came and kept their compact shape to frustrate their hosts. A Niederlechner strike with an Xg of 0.1 would leave Steffen Baumgart scratching his head as to how his side were 1-0 down.
Nonetheless, Baumgart would not be left scratching his head for much longer. Another ball over the top, but this time for Köln, found the run of Linton Maina in behind the back line. His cross found Steffen Tigges who struck the ball home past a helpless Koubek in goal. A half-time team talk that appeared to be inspired.
The turnaround was complete on the hour mark after some defending by Augsburg that can only be described as out of character. Demerovic had looked to clear the ball for Augsburg, but the clearance was fired into Schmitz. The ball bounced off the Koln right back and looped into the box with nobody claiming the ball. With the ball bouncing, Gumny’s halfhearted header was placed perfectly onto the foot of Denis Huseinbasic who placed the ball into the far corner.
But, Augsburg were not done there. Almost out of the blue it would be Daniel Caliguiri, who was subbed on at half-time for the previously booked Ruben Vargas to level the tie again. A cross to the back post found an unmarked Florian Niederlechner, who directed a header perfectly into the path of Caliguri who fired the ball into the near corner.
A game that had been end to end since the first whistle was highlighted with 10 minutes left. Lifelong Köln fan Mark Uth received the ball from a long throw-in and his slalom into the Augsburg box seemed to have won him a penalty. However, as he went down the ball trickled into the path of Steffen Tigges. The man that had been too hot to handle all game struck the ball into the roof of the net to emphatically put the billygoats back in front.
The final whistle brought the end to a game that was a joy to all those watching. Especially to Steffen Baumgart, whose side are back to winning ways after a difficult two weeks. They also end a run of losing their last five matches after a European match. As for Augsburg, they can reflect on a positive run of form that came to an end by a Köln side on top of their game.
