Verhaegh and Altintop sink Freiburg

Augsburg lifted themselves into mid-table with a 2-0 Bundesliga triumph over winless Freiburg at the Augsburg Arena on Saturday.Paul Verhaegh put the hosts in front from the penalty spot after 11 minutes and Halil Altintop sealed the points midway through the second half.The result left the visitors second from bottom in the standings.Freiburg coach Christian Streich had said his side's spirits were extraordinarily high prior to their trip to Augsburg, even if they had yet to win this season.He was also given the backing of club president Fritz Keller, who said his club were well equipped to cope with eventual relegation.That started to look increasingly realistic after only 11 minutes when Pavel Krmas fouled Ragnar Klavan inside the area and Augsburg captain Verhaegh put the hosts ahead.Daniel Baier rattled the crossbar 10 minutes later with only Roma Burki to beat as the Bavarians looked to build on their lead.Alexander Esswein wasted another good chance for Augsburg on the half-hour mark before Freiburg started to do some attacking of their own just before the interval.Wayward shots from Esswein and Raul Bobadilla was all the early stages of the second half brought, with Freiburg showing no signs of mounting a recovery or even putting Augsburg's resistance to the test.Altintop then settled home nerves by doubling their lead midway through the second half, recovering after failing to control Esswein's pass at the first attempt to beat Burki from just inside the area.That goal appeared to end all Freiburg's hopes of salvaging something and the rest of the game belonged to Augsburg.Markus Feulner and Esswein both went close to adding a third before Bobadilla volleyed wide.Almost every Augsburg player had a chance to get in on the act, with full-back Rahman Baba sending the last attempt of the game into the side-netting.