Brace before the break: FCA win 2-0 in Lustenau

FC Augsburg played their third friendly of pre-season against Austrian second-division side Austria Lustenau to mark the opening of the Reichshofstadion. Sandro Wagner’s side would come out on top, winning 2-0 courtesy of two goals from Alexis Claude-Maurice.

The conditions in Lustenau couldn’t have been better for the friendly, with the sold-out stadium surrounded by stunning mountain scenery. Both sets of fans put the friendship between the two clubs on show with a joint walk to the stadium. The last time Austria Lustenau played a game in their own stadium was in November 2023 – just under two years later, the time had come again for football just beside the Rhine.

After the friendly on Friday afternoon, head coach Sandro Wagner named a starting XI that consisted of established members of the squad and up-and-coming talents. For the first time in pre-season, Finn Dahmen was between the sticks.

FCA controlled the match from the outset and went close for the first time through new signing Robin Fellhauer, but his long-range effort crashed off the post (18’). The hosts limited their play to hitting visitors on the counter, though they struggled to break down the watchful Augsburg backline.

Claude-Maurice seals the deal before half time

FCA ran away with the match in the space of five minutes before the break. With 34 minutes on the clock, Noahkai Banks picked up the ball with pace in his own half before squaring it to Alexis Claude-Maurice whose precise, curled effort found the back of the net. Five minutes later, Banks teed the Frenchman up once again. This time, Claude-Maurice fired home on the turn to make it 2-0.

In the second half, Wagner made a number of substitutions and gave a number of the youth players some game time. Despite the changes, Augsburg’s structure remained solid. The hosts only threatened to reduce the deficit once through Lenn Jastremski’s header (53’). At the other end of the pitch, the agile Kyliane Dong had a couple of opportunities to stretch FCA’s advantage but narrowly missed out on bagging the side’s third of the afternoon on both occasions (73’/78’). Wagner’s side did not add to their lead in the closing stages and picked up their third win in three friendly matches.

FCA’s next friendly will be on Friday, 25th July, against Rot-Weiß Essen. Augsburg will play two 90-minute matches against the 3. Liga side in Dillingen. Then, Sandro Wagner’s side will travel to Austria for a training camp.

FCA: Dahmen – Gouweleeuw (60' Hummel), Rexhbecaj (60' Saad), Fellhauer (46' P. Wolf), Claude-Maurice (60' Dong), Tietz (60' Essende), Bauer (46' Schnitzer), Wolf (60' Breithaupt), Kömür (60' Kabadayi), Banks (46' Guha / 80' Reinheimer), Sorg (46' Draghici / 80' Nagata).

Goals: 0-1 Claude-Maurice (34'), 0:2 Claude-Maurice (39')

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