Gladbach's Hahn strikes late to deny Augsburg
Andre Hahn levelled in the 94th minute to salvage Borussia Mönchengladbach's push for a European finish and deny relegation-threatened Augsburg in a 1-1 draw on Saturday afternoon.
Gladbach 1-1 Augsburg
Goals: 0-1 Finnbogason (57'), 1-1 Hahn (90+4')
These sides had markedly different ambitions coming into the game – Augsburg were looking to climb away from the bottom three while Gladbach retained an outside chance of a UEFA Europa League place – and the high stakes contributed to a largely cagey opening half.
Borussia dominated possession but lacked poise in the final third, Jonas Hofmann missing their best opportunity of the opening half with a snatched finish from inside the box. Augsburg, unchanged from the side that routed Hamburg 4-0 last time out, grew into the match as the half progressed and might have gone ahead themselves, but for a smart save from Yann Sommer to deny Alfred Finnbogason.
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Encouragingly, both sides stepped up the pace in the early moments of the second period. Dominik Kohr headed a corner off-target when well placed and Patrick Herrmann was a whisker away from connecting to Hofmann’s low cross. Finnbogason was not to be denied, however, and after a series of frustrating misses, he finally had his goal, holding off Vestergaard impressively and finding the corner via the goalkeeper’s leg.
Augsburg now had Borussia exactly where they wanted them, and were content to soak up pressure and attack on the counter, with Kohr inches away from extending the lead with a drive that had Sommer beaten all ends up. Meanwhile, Gladbach looked lethargic and drained, perhaps as a result of their numerous injuries and busy calendar of late. They rarely threatened an equaliser, until Hahn popped up to deny his former club and preserve Gladbach's European aspirations with a stretching finish in the 94th minute.
Man of the Match
Finnbogason led the Augsburg line brilliantly here. The Iceland international did not give Borussia’s defence a moment’s rest all afternoon and he largely won the physical battle with Andreas Christensen and Vestergaard. He scored four goals in his last six matches in 2015/16 to help Augsburg stay up, and his goal here, despite Borussia's late equaliser, could well be the one that ensures a seventh season of top-flight football for Die Fuggerstädter.
Watch: Augsburg goalscorer Alfred Finnbogason on Gladbach's last-gasp equaliser:
Talking Point
Those two points dropped could yet be costly for Augsburg, however. They are 13th in the table on 36 points, but could find themselves still within striking distance of the side that occupies the relegation play-off spot at the end of the weekend.
Match Stats
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- Finnbogason scored with his sixth shot on goal.Andre Hahn notched only his third goal of the season.Philipp Max recorded a match-high 34 sprints and also set up five shots, more than any other player.
Line-ups
Gladbach: Sommer - Elvedi (Strobl 78'), Vestergaard, Christensen, Schulz - Benes (Kramer 67'), Dahoud - Hofmann, Hahn, Herrmann (Traore 58') - Stindl (c)
Coach: Dieter Hecking
Augsburg: Hitz – Verhaegh (c), Gouweleeuw, Hinteregger, Stafylidis – Kohr, Altintop (Ji 60'), Baier – Schmid, Finnbogason (Bobadilla 90'), Max (Caiuby 85')
Coach: Manuel Baum