FCA earn hard fought point in Cologne

FC Augsburg come away from Cologne with a hard fought point after their clash on Bundesliga matchday 20 ended in a 1-1 draw. Milos Jojic put the hosts in the lead thanks to a sublime free kick that left Marwin Hitz grasping at thin air (40’). Caiuby rescued a point for FCA in the second half with a towering header that looped over all the Cologne players into the back of the net (77’). Manuel Baum made no changes to the side that lost to Borussia Mönchengladbach this time last week. The home side were impressive in the opening stages, although FCA started to create some danger down the flanks. In the seventh minute, Philipp Max lead one such counter attack down the left wing and shot from distance, but his shot was always rising. At the other end Miloš Jojić pushed through himself, before cutting into a central position and shooting over the bar as well. Daniel Baier was the next to have a go from range, but his right-footed attempt went narrowly wide of the right post (18’). The opener almost came in the 26^th minute, after Simon Terodde got the ball in front of the FCA goal unmarked, but Marwin Hitz did just enough to pull off a miraculous reaction save and keep things goalless. Cologne were certainly the most offensively adventurous as the half wore on, and they were rewarded with a free kick in a dangerous position after Jojic was hauled down by Rani Khedira. The Serbian took the set piece himself from about 25 metres out, managing to get the ball up and over the FCA wall in the direction of the top left corner. Marwin Hitz did all he could to get a hand to it, but it wasn’t enough to stop the perfect shot – 1-0 to Cologne (40’). They weren’t satisfied with just one either. Yuya Osako came extremely close from a corner in added time, but Hitz was there to make the save and ensure that they would only lead by one going into the break (45+3’). The beginning of the second half almost ended in disaster for FCA. In the process of dealing with a cross into the Augsburg area, newly introduced Kevin Danso almost scored an own goal with his first touch of the ball. Again though, it was the ever-reliable Marwin Hitz who was there to react and push the ball over the bar (48’). It seemed to shock Augsburg into action, as they gradually started to up the pressure on the hosts. Caiuby heads Augsburg level FC Augsburg became more and more dangerous as the second half progressed. The 67^th minute saw multiple chances for an equaliser. Michael Gregoritsch started by shooting at Timo Horn’s goal from short range, although Jonas Hector was there to block the attempt. FCA were simply creating chance after chance. Caiuby was the next to almost break the duck – his shot from a tight angle went over the bar, however (72’). He was the man to ultimately pull FCA back level though, after he met a Philipp Max corner kick with authority, and his header looped into the back of the net, leaving Timo Horn with no chance (77’). Both sides had chances to score a second as the final stages were played out, but ultimately, neither could beat the men in the opposing goal. After 93 minutes of intense football, the final whistle would blow with the score tied at one a piece. And so FC Augsburg travel back home with a point, and keep themselves in touching distance of their competitors.