Ten-man Wolves rescue point against Augsburg
Wolfsburg - Ten-men VfL Wolfsburg maintained their grip on a spot in the top six after overturning a one-goal half-time deficit to clinch a hard-fought 1-1 draw with FC Augsburg.
Wolves pounce
Both sides kept things tight early with the midfield battle dominating proceedings during the opening exchanges. Despite being wary of their visitors’ prowess on the counter, the Wolves sought to turn the screw as Maximilian Arnold and Ivica Olic both went close inside the opening 20 minutes. Kevin De Bruyne was at the heart of the Wolves’ most promising moments and almost produced an opener as Ivan Perisic headed wide from his pin-point cross - a wasted chance that came back to haunt them.
Having offered very little going forward, the visitors struck against the run of play on the stroke of half-time when Tobias Werner cut in from the left before curling an effort into the far corner. Though their shell-shocked hosts proved relatively tame after the restart, Augsburg seemed intent on patiently waiting for the Wolves to make a mistake before bursting forward at pace as they sought to press their advantage.
Olic almost made them pay as a result, but could only guide his header over the bar as the visitors’ backline continued to stand firm despite being put under increasing pressure. However, sitting in the precarious position of boasting a slender lead, Augsburg’s lack of killer instinct cost them dearly when Olic produced a well-timed header to convert the Wolves’ first shot on target, restoring parity with ten minutes left and ensuring that both sides took home a share of the spoils in spite of De Bruyne’s late sending off.
Line-ups and statistics
