Koo Ja-cheol and Alfred Finnbogason combine to rescue a draw for Augsburg in four-goal thriller at Hertha Berlin

All four goals came in a manic first-half as Ja-Cheol Koo and Alfred Finnbogason secured an away point for Augsburg in a 2-2 draw at Hertha Berlin.

Hertha 2-2 Augsburg

Goals: 0-1 Hinteregger (8’), 1-1 Leckie (29’), 2-1 Duda (31’), 2-2 Koo (39’)

An action-packed first-half saw Augsburg waste no time going in front, Martin Hinteregger powering home Jonathan Schmid’s corner with a superb header from 12-yards, just eight minutes in. It caught Berlin cold but the hosts soon found their stride and found parity before the half hour mark as Davie Selke teed up Mathew Leckie to stroke home his second goal of the season. And just two minutes later, the hosts were in front as Andreas Luthe parried Valentino Lazaro’s effort into the onrushing Ondrej Duda’s path and the Hertha playmakers squeezed the ball under the Augsburg stopper to make it 2-1. The first-half scoring wasn’t done there and it took Augsburg fewer than ten minutes to level as Koo exchanged passes with Finnbogason before the South Korean expertly poked home.

The second period began with a far greater sense of normality as Hertha struggled to gain a foothold but kept a more composed Augsburg at arm’s length. Chances of note were far less forthcoming after such a fruitful first 45 minutes, the match ending in a 2-2 draw. This was despite both teams pressing for what would have been a winning fifth goal. As a result, Hertha remain in seventh, while Augsburg nudge up one spot into 13th.

Koo Ja-cheol (r.) was on target as Augsburg rescued a 2-2 draw against Hertha Berlin. - 2018 Getty Images

Match stats

• Three of Hertha’s four league defeats this season have come against teams that were below them in the Bundesliga table. They avoided a fourth by securing a draw in this match.
• Augsburg have still never beaten Hertha in Berlin. Indeed, the Old Lady have never met a team so often at home without losing (eight matches).
• Pal Dardai has never lost to Augsburg as Hertha manager (three wins, five draws).
• Augsburg have taken only three points from a possible 21 in their last seven Bundesliga matches.
• They have now gone seven league games without a win under Manuel Baum for the first time.
• Philipp Max made his 100th Bundesliga appearance for Augsburg.

Line-ups

Hertha: Jarstein – Pekarik (c), Lustenberger, Torunarigha, Plattenhardt – Maier, Mittelstädt – Leckie, Duda (Darida, 65'), Lazaro – Selke (Ibisevic, 73')
Unused subs: Kraft, Skjelbred, Köpke, Palk. Dardai, Baak
Out: Dilrosun (thigh), Grujic (ankle), Kalou (foot), Klünter (thigh), Rekik (thigh), Stark (foot), Luckassen (ankle)
Coach: Pal Dardai

Augsburg: Luthe – Schmid, Danso, Hinteregger (Moravek, 46'), Max – Khedira, Baier (c) – Koo, Gregoritsch (Schieber, 90'), Ji – Finnbogason (Cordova, 61')
Unused subs: Giefer, Callsen-Bracker, Hahn, Framberger
Out: Götze (concussion), Jakob (knee), Jensen (hip), Moravek (calf)
Coach: Manuel Baum

About the clubs

FC Augsburg

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Hertha BSC

Olympiastadion