VfB Stuttgart
FC Augsburg
| 0-1 | Verhaegh | (72. Min) |
Daniel Schwaab
Daniel Schwaab
Stats 
Sven Ulriech after the defeat against FC Augsburg.
Massive effort, no reward
In the final game of the twelfth match day of the season, VfB suffered a 0-1 defeat. An early dismissal and a harsh penalty decision were to prove costly for the Cannstatt Boys.
Armin Veh made a total of five changes to his starting eleven from the last Bundesliga tie, with Sven Ulreich replacing the injured Thorsten Kirschbaum between the posts and Adam Hlousek, Timo Baumgartl, Moritz Leitner and Daniel Ginczek replacing Florian Klein, Gotoku Sakai, Sercan Sararer and Alexandru Maxim from the outset.
Advantage VfB
VfB had the early attacking opportunities in the game. Initially, Martin Harnik‘s header from an Adam Hlousek delivery failed to find the target (7‘). The next chance for the Austrian was cleared by a desperate Augsburg defensive effort (14‘) and from a Filip Kostic free-kick delivery, FCA-Keeper Marwin Hitz made a good save from a Timo Baumgartl header (20’).
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Debateable early dismissal for Daniel Schwaab
The next big issue in the game was to stem from a refereeing decision. For his second foul in the game, Daniel Schwaab saw his second yellow card and was duly sent for an early shower (28‘). Armin Veh had to react to the situation, introducing Florian Klein, marking an early end to Daniel Ginczek’s comeback (31’). In spite of the numerical deduction and resulting alterations, VfB continued in concentrated fashion. All attempts from the opponents were cut-out, whilst a shot from distance by Oriol Romeu could have put VfB in front (37‘). The game thus went into the half-time break locked at 0-0.
Armin Veh: "A defeat doesn’t get much bitterer than that. When you are rooted to the bottom of the table, games often tend to go that way." Post match comments
Penalty for Augsburg
After the restart, the fans in the Mercedes-Benz Arena were soon off their seats. Adam Hlousek delivered a cross, which Martin Harnik laid off into the centre, where Moritz Leitner‘s flying header was blocked away by the FCA defence (51’). At the other end, Sven Ulreich was forced into action to turn a Markus Feulner effort away (56‘) and shortly after, Timo Baumgartl cleared a Halil Altintop shot off the line (65’).
The next major talking point in the game was again to result from a refereeing decision. The ball struck Adam Hlousek on the arm in the area and the referee immediately pointed to the spot. Paul Verhaegh stepped up to convert and put the guests in front (72’). In the closing phase, the Cannstatt Boys, drove forward in a desperate attempt to find a way back into the game, but in spite of the massive effort – which was duly acknowledged by the fans – there was to be no change to the 0-1 displayed on the score-board.
