Wolfsburg stretched their unbeaten league run to seven games with a 2-1 win at Augsburg in the Bundesliga, moving up to sixth in the standings as the season restarted on Saturday, May 16.
Daniel Ginczek’s stoppage-time winner secured the points after Augsburg’s Tin Jedvaj had cancelled out Renato Steffen’s first-half opener inside an empty Augsburg Arena.
Augsburg were playing without their new head coach Heiko Herrlich on the sidelines.
He was not allowed to attend the match after breaking quarantine by leaving the team hotel to buy toothpaste.
Winger Ruben Vargas went close to giving Augsburg the lead with a low shot which nearly caught out goalkeeper Koen Casteels.
But his initial block slowed the ball down enough for him to claw it back before it crept over the line.
At the other end, Wolfsburg’s players appealed for a penalty kick when Jedvaj’s attempted clearance inside the box hit his arm.
Wolfsburg took the lead two minutes before half-time when Steffen used the pace of a cross to head home from 15 metres out.
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He gave diving goalkeeper Andreas Luthe no chance to make a save.
The players did not celebrate as a group as part of social distancing protocols.
But they could not resist the urge to give the Swiss a couple of high-fives and fist bumps.
The home side equalised from a second half set-piece, when John Brooks’ headed clearance went the wrong way.
It came off goalkeeper Casteels’ hands and hit the bar before bouncing on the line where Jedvaj was on hand to head home.
Felix Uduokhai thought he had given Augsburg a 2-1 lead when he headed home from another set-piece.
But the referee looked at the pitchside VAR monitor and ruled it out as Florian Niederlechner was offside and blocking the goalkeeper’s view.
Wolfsburg’s Admir Mehmedi had numerous chances to score their second.
The first of them was with a volley that came off the post, and again minutes later when a sweeping move forced Luthe to keep out a low stinging effort with his feet.
However, the visitors capitalised in stoppage time when Kevin Mbabu’s low cross found substitute Ginczek inside the six-yard box.
His poacher’s finish at the far post gave the visitors all three points.
Augsburg remain in 14th place.
(Reuters)
Yetunde Adegoke
