Schalke draw at Augsburg to consolidate third
Reuters - Sunday 22 April 2012, 17:35
Schalke 04 drew 1-1 at Augsburg
on Sunday to stay in control of third place in the Bundesliga
and on course to grab the final spot that leads to automatic
Champions League qualification.
Sebastian Langkamp gave the hosts a sixth-minute lead,
drilling in a powerful header that went in off the bar as
Augsburg looked to seal their survival with two games left.
Schalke forward Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, however, broke his
unusual two-game goal drought with his 25th league goal to join
Bayern Munich's Mario Gomez at the top of the scoring chart.
He chased down a deep cross and raced clear of two defenders
with a stunning first touch before slotting in from 11 metres.
The result allowed Schalke, with their first win after two
losses, to move up to 58 points, two ahead of fourth-placed
Borussia Monchengladbach while Augsburg moved four points clear
of the relegation play-off spot.
"We are lucky to have Klaas-Jan," said Schalke coach Huub
Stevens. "He got that equaliser out of nothing."
"We had wanted to win but after the early goal that became
very hard. That should not have happened," said Stevens.
In the only other game on Sunday Freiburg ended their
relegation fears after battling to a goalless draw at Hannover
96, who saw their chances of Europa League action next season
take a hit.
Hannover are in seventh place on 45 points with Freiburg on
37, seven ahead of the relegation play-off spot.
Borussia Dortmund retained the Bundesliga title on Saturday
with two games to spare after beating Gladbach 2-0 to open up an
eight-point lead over second-placed Bayern Munich who were 2-1
winners at Werder Bremen.