FC Augsboring and how to not score goals (and other highlights from the weekend)
The DFB Pokal will be back for Bayern when they visit Augsburg this coming Wednesday, and we provide a petite recap for you to catch up on how the baby Bavarians did (or didn’t do) against Hertha this weekend.
We’ve got no ads today, simply because Dortmund are no fun when they win.
Po-po-pokal
Hertha Berlin 0:0 FC Augsburg
Hertha’s last three
L – 0:2 hosting Schalke
W – 3:2 visiting Hoffenheim
L – 0:1 hosting Leverkusen
Augsburg’s last three
L – 0:3 visiting Bayern
L – 0:1 visiting Unterhaching (friendly)
W – 2:0 hosting Hoffenheim
Since last season, we have insisted on the fact that the Bundesliga has an incredibly crammed mid-table, with teams as far as six places apart are separated by an ephemeral sum of under four points. Well, in the 2013-14 season, this is no more. The mid-table arguably starts in the sixth spot, the one with the last place for European football. That’s Wolfsburg, with 23 points. On seventh is one of our stars this weekend, Hertha Berlin. Except they’re trailing by four points.
Flash down to 10th, where Augsburg are, and you get another two-point margin. It’s not the Grand Canyon, but there’s a considerable difference in trend. The effect though, is the same: teams in the middle of the table need to rack up as much points as possible to avoid getting stuck in their current positions.
And with this mid-table showdown, we were probably in for a very nice game.
Except we weren’t.
Hertha line-up
4-1-4-1
Kraft – Pekarik, Lustenberger, Langkamp, Bergh – Hosogai – Ndjeng, Skjelbred, Cigerci, Ben-Hatira – Ramos
Augsburg line up
4-1-4-1
Hitz – Verhaegh, Calsen-Bracker, Klavan, Ostrzolek – Baier – Philip, Vogt, Altintop, Werner – Milik
Augsburg have a thing for this 4-1-4-1, and considering how they’re doing, it’s wrong that they do. Alas, it didn’t work today either. The team produced no shots at goal, conceded six to their opponents and had less of the ball. The result was desperation, which in turn made way for a horrible, physical game, where Augsburg committed a total of 21 fouls. Bringing in Moravek for Philip in the second half did close to nothing, as did the team in the entirety of the game.
Disappointing. And to think they’ve got us next…