体坛英语新闻：Augsburg see off Hoffenheim 4-2 in Bundesliga

BERLIN, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- Augsburg snatched their fourth win from five games after easing 4-2 past Hoffenheim on Philipp Max's brace at the curtain raiser of the 15th round in Bundesliga on Friday.

In form Augsburg ensured a bright start on home soil as the "Fuggerstadter" needed only 11 minutes to get on the scoreboards after Florian Niederlechner intercepted a clearance attempt to set up for Max, who poked home from very close range.

It remained a short-lived joy for the visitors as Hoffenheim responded very well and restored parity after finishing off a combination via Sebastian Rudy whose lay up allowed Robert Sokov to rifle the ball past Augsburg goalkeeper Tomas Koubek from the edge of the box into the bottom right corner with 14 minutes played.

Hoffenheim increased the pressure and kept Augsburg on the back foot but for all that the hosts were unable to take the lead as Koubek denied Ihlas Bebou from close range before the break.

After the restart, Augsburg punished Hoffenheim's wastefulness in front of the goal as Kevin Akpoguma felled Niederlechner inside the box. Max stepped up and converted the subsequent penalty to wrap up his brace and to make it 2-1 on the scoreboards.

The visitors gained momentum and established a two goal lead eleven minutes into the second half when Niederlechner's through ball found Fredrik Jensen, who made no mistake to overcome onrushing Hoffenheim custodian Oliver Baumann.

Hoffenheim fought back and were able to pull one back through Jurgen Locadia, who nodded home Skov's cross with ten minutes to the final whistle.

Augsburg however remained unimpressed and destroyed all hopes of a stalemate as Amaral Borduchi Iago put all three points beyond doubt.

With the second straight victory, Augsburg jump the 10th position whereas Hoffenheim stay on the 8th place of the standings for the moments.

The following encounter are scheduled for Saturday: Fortuna Dusseldorf host runner up Leipzig, Mainz face third placed Borussia Dortmund, defending champions Bayern Munich clash with Werder Bremen, bottom side Cologne see Bayer Leverkusen and Hertha Berlin meet Freiburg and Union Berlin travel to Paderborn.