Visiting a ground in which even Bayern Munich failed to come away with anything in the Bundesliga this season, Stuttgart had the odds stacked against them on paper, and soon found themselves behind, thanks to Dion Drena Beljo’s perfectly-placed header as early as the eighth minute following Arne Maier’s cross with pinpoint accuracy on the right-hand side.
The visitors responded well in the relegation six-pointer, however, and provided Tomas Koubek with his first test of the evening almost immediately, courtesy of Chris Fuhrich effort directly into the goalkeeper’s palms.
It was a first-half which saw the action drop off after such a frantic start, as the fear of losing any initiative in the battle to avoid the drop became apparent in a nervy affair between two sides separated by just five points in the Bundesliga ahead of kick-off.
Perhaps looking to repeat their previous resilience last time out in a stunning, last-minute comeback draw against Borussia Dortmund, Die Roten stepped onto the frontfoot at the start of the second period, with Serhou Guirassy particularly causing Augsburg problems, albeit without testing Koubek.
Given the hosts’ record of failing to win after scoring first in four of their previous five games, the door was always open for a Stuttgart comeback, and the visitors soon added to that record, as Endo bundled home on the rebound of his initial effort, which was initially parried away by Koubek, to level things up in the 78th minute.
Despite earning a point, Stuttgart remain a point adrift of safety in the relegation play-off place, having played one more game than the majority of those above them. Meanwhile, Augsburg remain a precarious five points clear of the dropzone, after letting another lead slip away from them.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Serhou Guirassy (Stuttgart)
