Vital win for Augsburg

Augsburg picked up vital points in their battle to avoid relegation from the Bundesliga with a 2-0 win over Eintracht Frankfurt.

Augsburg picked up a vital victory in their battle to avoid relegation from the Bundesliga as Ji Dong-Won scored twice to down Eintracht Frankfurt. The former Sunderland striker netted either side of the break for a dominant Augsburg side, who even missed a penalty on their way to securing an unchallenged victory. The win lifts Augsburg back above Hoffenheim and to within three points of safety. With 18 points claimed from the second half of the season so far, Augsburg have already doubled their first-half season tally to make booking survival in top flight a realistic aim with five games remaining. Frankfurt remain sixth but their hopes of qualifying for Europe suffered a serious setback in Bavaria. It was clear from the outset that Markus Weinzierl's side meant business. Ji was at the heart of everything, creating and, as he showed in the 27th minute, also finishing their attacks. He had a deflection off Bamba Anderson to thank for his goal, but it was nevertheless a deserved lead for the dominant hosts. They could have been two up five minutes later but Jan Ingwer Callsen-Bracker sent a penalty kick sailing over the crossbar after Paul Varhaegh had been fouled in the box. Ji then saw a goal ruled out on the stroke of half time, much to the home fans' disappointment. It did not matter, though, as Ji scored a perfectly valid goal in the 55th minute to double Augsburg's lead, picking out the far corner of Oka Nikolov's goal and slotting home. A third goal was not required, even if Augsburg did continue to attack until the final whistle against a disappointing Frankfurt side.