German Bundesliga: Cologne held Augsburg to goalless draw

Ten-men Cologne craved out a goalless draw at Augsburg to open the 32nd round in Bundesliga.

Cologne already wrapped their top-flight status last week with win over Darmstadt. It was thus up to Augsburg in Friday's match to sew up their safety to ensure another season in Germany's first division, Xinhua news agency reported.

Nevertheless, both sides established a wait-and-see strategy to minimise the risk of a setback. As a result, the main action took part in the midfield were both teams neutralized all offensively minded efforts.

Things changed after the restart as Cologne's skipper Matthias Lehmann was sent off for his second bookable offence. Augsburg took the reins but were unable to pose any threat except with set-pieces. However, neither Raul Bodadilla's free kick nor Halil Altintop's single effort broke the deadlock for Augsburg.

With the draw, Augsburg remain on the 12th place meanwhile Cologne stay on the 8th position.

The following fixtures are scheduled for Saturday: front-runners Bayern Munich host Monchengladbach, runner-up Dortmund encounter Wolfsburg, last-placed Hannover see Schalke, Hoffenheim face newly promoted Ingolstadt, Mainz take on Hamburg, newly promoted Darmstadt clash with relegation threatened Frankfurt and third placed Bayer Leverkusen meet fourth placed Berlin.

--IANS

pgh/