Derby Draw
impuls arena, Augsburg, April 8 - FC Augsburg and SpVgg Greuther Fürth came into their derby match with different goals but both came in looking for a win. After 90 minutes, nothing was decided between two solid second division clubs in the Bundesliga and the match ended in a goalless draw.
Augsburg did take a small step closer to promotion by earning a point and securing 2nd place on the table for the weekend. Fürth may have lost a chance to gain on VfL Bochum, who sit in the promotion playoff spot and 4 points ahead. Bochum are at top-of-the-table Hertha BSC Berlin and any result could be negative for Greuther.
Both teams came out running in the first half. Augsburg had more possession and chances early. The match got going when Marcel de Jong's freekick attempt was impeded by Stephan Fürstner, earning him a yellow card. The retry went through the wall and punched away by Alexander Walke. The ensuing corner by de Jong in the 20th minute found Raphael Nando's head but the ball was a hair wide.
Fürth had a few dangerous counters. Sercan Sararer's long runs broke down the FCA defense. In the 31st minute, he got to the touch line, passed it back to find Leonhard Haas who shot it cleanly but Simon Jentzsch was there to stop it.
Augsburg's best chance came a few minutes later when a free-ball got to Nando all alone at the penalty spot. The Fürth defense were caught off guard and thought Nando was offside. No whistle, but the shot was stopped by Walke's reflexes.
The second half was exciting, if not for the lack of flow but the growing pressure for both clubs to get the winning goal. And the pressure was definitely felt by both teams, as their desperation led to bad passes and lost possessions.
Nando's substitution in the 75th minute effectively ended the match for Augsburg, as any teeth to their attack was now gone.
Next up for FCA, they take on Karlsruher SC on Monday night, April 18th before returning home on April 24th to host Alemannia Aachen. Fürth host SC Paderborn next week before visiting the Allianz Arena to take on TSV 1860 München on Saturday, April 23rd.
