FCA picked up their third win of the season, beating 1. FSV Mainz 05 3-1 on Saturday afternoon. The Zerofivers fought back after a stunning opening goal from FCA, before Heiko Herrlich’s side were clinical in the closing stages to seal the three points.

Heiko Herrlich made two changes to the team that lost 3-1 to Bayer 04 Leverkusen on Monday night. Tobias Strobl and Ruben Vargas replaced Rani Khedira (bench) and Florian Niederlechner (abdominal muscle).

The game began at a high tempo and both sides had early snap shots – Kunde (1’) for Mainz and Vargas for FCA (2’). The hosts took control of the game after a few minutes, however they found it difficult to break down the away side who sat back early on. A set piece somewhat unsurprisingly provided the first real chance for Augsburg. Caligiuri’s corner was headed by Strobl at the near post and the ball just missed the far post (17’).

Otherwise, the first half was a tale of few chances, one exception being a shot by Vargas (24’). Augsburg were lacking tempo going forward and Mainz were happy to defend and sit back. Just before the break, however, the ball was in the back of the Zerofivers’ net. An Iago shot was blocked and the rebound fell to Vargas who spectacularly converted with an overhead kick to make it 1-0 to FCA (40’).

Framberger has to go off – Onisiwo equalises

Mainz came out for the second half rejuvenated, although Michael Gregoritsch had the first shot of the second period (48’). The Zerofivers did take control of the game and pushed FCA backed into their own half. Augsburg were forced into a substitution during this period, with Robert Gumny coming on for Raphael Framberger, who suffered an injury without any contact from an opponent (60’).

Shortly after, FCA’s lead was gone. After losing possession in midfield, Mainz broke quickly and Karim Onisiwo equalised after a cross by Öztunali (64’).

Hahn scores again – and then seals the win

Mainz continued to press for another goal and Gikiewicz was on hand to deny Onisiwo (69’). At the other end, Gregoritsch just missed the target (71’). The game became a lot more open and FCA soon regained the lead. Iago’s cross was met by Alfred Finnbogason, who gave it to Hahn. He duly finished the move off to make it 2-1 with just ten minutes to play.

The guests continued to push forward looking for another equaliser. Burkardt’s acrobatic shot just cleared the crossbar (88’), however FCA sealed the win in added time. Noah Sarenren Bazee burst away on the break and squared it for Hahn, who only had to tap it into an empty net (91’) – his second of the day and the final goal of the game.

After back-to-back defeats, Augsburg managed to pick up their third win of the campaign, and also their fifth consecutive victory over Mainz. Next up for Herrlich’s side is Hertha BSC at the WWK Arena on Saturday, 7th November (15:30 CET).

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