Kiel stun Augsburg to reignite survival hopes

Marcel Rapp’s side sealed a much-needed 3-1 win at the WWK-Arena this afternoon.

On a balmy afternoon in Bavaria with their Bundesliga existence under heavy threat, Holstein Kiel pulled off a mighty upset as they defeated FC Augsburg to secure three massive points with two fixtures remaining to try and climb into the promotion-relegation spot.

Given the magnitude of this game for relegation battling Kiel, it would come as no surprise that the visitors started nervously. The first chance of the game fell to Samuel Essende from a corner which the DR Congo striker couldn’t convert from. 

Approaching the 20th-minute and the game burst into life. Armin Gigovic looked certain to score until Chrislain Matsima cleared off the goal line. At the other end, a series of neat passes down the left created space for Mert Kömür to test Thomas Dähne with a low drive.

Desperately requiring a win this afternoon, Kiel were offered a lifeline as Matsima’s last-gasp tackle on Alex Bernhardsson was deemed dangerous. Match referee Harm Osmers pointed to the spot in an instant and Shuto Machino tucked the penalty away despite Finn Dahmen guessing correctly. 

Machino was forced off with an ankle injury, but Kiel surged into a shock 2-0 lead five minutes before the break. Steven Skrzybski fizzed a beautiful pass from the left into the path of Bernhardsson. The Swede was initially denied by Zesiger but adapted well to nod over Dahmen with a looping header. 

Skrzybski and Bernhardsson combined once again just six minutes after the second-half got underway. An aggressive press put Augsburg under pressure as Skrzybski waited until the perfect moment to slip in the Swedish striker to slot past a helpless Dahmen. 

Augsburg looked completely shell shocked approaching the hour mark and almost incapable of forming coherent attacks. Both Dahmen and Dähne made sharp saves to deny Gigovic and substitute Steve Mounié respectively.

Augsburg pulled a consolation goal back in the 90th-minute as the excellent Thomas Dähne was finally beaten. Giannoulis’ cross found Tietz whose header was saved. Mounié converted from the rebound to net his first-ever Bundesliga goal.