Sascha Mölders (r.) struck his 14th goal in 42 matches for Augsburg on Matchday 23
Sascha Mölders (r.) struck his 14th goal in 42 matches for Augsburg on Matchday 23

Mölders shows nose for relegation battle

xwhatsappmailcopy-link

Augsburg - He may be one of the lesser known names on the scorers' chart, but his goals-per-game ratio sees FC Augsburg's among the very best strikers the Bundesliga has to offer.

"A great example"

Mölders came out fighting again in the Bavarians' Matchday 23 2-1 win over 1899 Hoffenheim, battling on despite a severe cut to his nose and serving up his ninth goal in 13 games this season as Augsburg move a step closer to safety.

For the Essen-born striker, who joined Augsburg two years ago from Bundesliga 2 side FSV Frankfurt, there was no doubt he would remain on the pitch for as long as he could against 1899. "Not even a second" had he thought about asking to be substituted: "I bruised my nose, not my feet."

Even some of Hoffenheim's players were impressed: "Sascha Mölders sets a great example", said Danish defender Jannik Vestergaard, hinting that the extraordinary commitment of the 6ft 1" forward might just have made the difference on Saturday afternoon. "We should have played just like him. Not everything worked out for him, but he always works hard and scored a great goal."

Five goals since restart


Indeed, the fact Hoffenheim pulled one back through Igor de Camargo only three minutes after Mölders finally came off in the 89th minute, could be seen as an indication as to just how important the forward is to Augsburg's game. Five of his nine goals have come in the six matches played in 2013, with Augsburg notching nine points, as many as in the whole first half of the current campaign, of which Mölders missed large parts due to a broken ankle.

Fortunately, the injury picked up against Hoffenheim will not affect Mölders' availability for the upcoming encounter against Werder Bremen. "We'll just glue it together, I'll be all right," joked Mölders.

Tobias Kimmel