Stalemate in Augsburg

Augsburg got their season up and running with their first point thanks to a 0-0 draw against Wolfsburg on Friday night.

Augsburg got their season up and running with their first point thanks to a 0-0 draw against Wolfsburg. The Wolves were the side who gave Augsburg their first home win of last season and, although history did not fully repeat itself here, they did at least provide Markus Weinzierl with his first point in the Bundesliga. Chances were few and far between at the Augsburg Arena and neither side deserved any more than a goalless draw, with the home side nevertheless happier with the outcome. There was no indication of what was to come when the home team launched attack after attack in the first 10 minutes, Aristide Bance going closest with a deflected shot just dipping over the crossbar. It seems the home side ran out of ideas with only a tenth of the game played, though, and they spent the remainder of the first half defending. They did not have much to defend against, in truth, as a toothless Wolfsburg side struggled to put them under any serious pressure. The best Felix Magath's troops could muster was a shot from Diego in the 17th minute which was too easy for Augsburg goalkeeper Mohamed Amsif to save. Things hardly improved in the second half with Augsburg remaining defensive and the Wolves unable to bite. They managed to find a way through in the 72nd minute, but Thomas Kahlenberg headed too close to Amsif after being set up by substitute Bas Dost. Just a handful of minutes later, Ivica Olic was the next to give the Augsburg goalkeeper just a routine save. As the clock ticked down, Augsburg sat even deeper in their own half, clearly happy to get their first point of the season after two defeats. And they were duly rewarded with a draw as Wolfsburg failed to find a way through the massed ranks of Augsburg shirts, lacking the invention to take more than a point away with them from Bavaria.