Thanks to a brace from Steffen Tigges, 1. FC Köln ended a dismal run and celebrated their first home win against FC Augsburg in eleven years.
At the final whistle, Steffen Baumgart bent his upper body backwards, both fists jerked out, then let out a mighty cry of victory. The hard-fought 3:2 (0:1) against FC Augsburg at the start of the Bundesliga Sunday also cost the coach of 1. FC Köln a lot of strength and nerves.
Baumgart then disappeared briefly into the cabin aisle to collect himself and lift his cap, finally hugging the other “Steffen of the day” on the pitch. Steffen Tigges (47./81.) had decided the game against an uncomfortable FCA with two goals and at the same time ended a dark series: It was Cologne’s first win against Augsburg in eleven years.
“We pushed through our game but fell behind quickly and didn’t take our chances,” said Tigges DAZN, where he was wrongly first called Florian. “We did a lot better after the break, took the fans with us and threw everything in front.”
Tigges and Denis Huseinbasic (61st) also brought an end to an initial earnings crisis under Baumgart. Most recently, Cologne had suffered three defeats in a row across all competitions. Augsburg goals from Florian Niederlechner (14th) and Daniel Caligiuri (69th) were not enough to win a point, FCA are now three points behind Cologne in midfield.
1. FC Köln turns behind shortly after the break
Caligiuri found this terribly unnecessary. “We’re leading, but then you suddenly run behind here, that’s annoying, of course,” he said. “Then we’ll even come back – and that’s how it ends.” His interview was drowned out by the Cologne victory dance.
FC often got bogged down in duels at first and didn’t play as briskly forward as Baumgart would have liked. The guests, on the other hand, started very efficiently. Niederlechner took a long pass well, let Luca Kilian run into space and scored.
A little later the ball was in the FC goal again, but Augsburg’s Mergim Berisha (20′) was offside when he headed it. Linton Maina (21′) initiated a pressure phase in Cologne: Ruben Vargas cleared a shot from Tigges (33′) just before the FCA goal line.
The equalizer came immediately after the break: After winning the ball, Maina served Tigges, who effortlessly scored his second goal of the season. And the people of Cologne didn’t have enough.
Maina in particular caused danger with his speed, and Huseinbasic also increased. He gave FC the lead out of the fray, but Caligiuri equalized in one of Augsburg’s few good attacks, which Tigges countered.
1. FC Cologne – FC Augsburg: The data for the game
