Augsburg take Partizan out of equation
Thursday, December 10, 2015
Article summary
Partizan 1-3 Augsburg
Raúl Bobadilla's sixth strike of the group stage broke hearts in Belgrade, the German debutants taking second place in Group L on goal difference.
Article top media content
Article body
- Augsburg through to round of 32 in first European campaign
- Raúl Bobadilla's sixth goal of group stage levels teams' head-to-head
- Partizan consigned to third place on overall goal difference
- Home side have not reached knockout stage since 2004/05
- Round of 32 draw takes place at 13.00CET on Monday
Augsburg secured their place in the UEFA Europa League round of 32 with a nail-biting 3-1 victory at Partizan, Raúl Bobadilla's 89th-minute strike clinching the runners-up berth in Group L.
Needing to win by at least two goals – albeit with a scoreline other than 2-0 – to pip their hosts to qualification, the visitors started brightly, with Bobadilla firing just past the post. It was a wake-up call for Partizan and they took the lead through a moment of individual brilliance from Abubakar Oumaru, who strode clear of the Augsburg defence on 11 minutes and fired beyond Marwin Hitz from the tightest of angles.
Augsburg heads did not drop, however, and they deservedly levelled on the stroke of half-time, Christoph Janker's free-kick finding the head of substitute Hong Jeon-Ho. On 51 minutes, skipper Paul Verhaegh set the home supporters' nerves truly on edge, seizing on a superb through ball from Daniel Baier and coolly placing past Živko Živković. Partizan were rattled and fell back deeper and deeper, matters going from bad to worse on 80 minutes when the influential Andrija Živković was dismissed for a second bookable offence.
Requiring another goal to cancel out Partizan's head-to-head advantage – the Serbian team having triumphed 3-1 in Germany – and move second in Group L on overall goal difference, Augsburg threw men forward; in the dying moments, Bobadilla slotted home after good work from second-half substitute Caiuby to break hearts in Belgrade.
