BERLIN, Feb. 3 (Xinhua) -- A hat trick from Alfred Finnbogason helped Augsburg to return to winning ways and to ease 3-0 past Mainz at the 20th round in Bundesliga on Sunday.
The "Fuggerstaedter" ensured a fairy-tale start into the clash as Daniel Brosinski's hand ball inside the box allowed Iceland international Alfred Finnbogason to open the scoring from the penalty spot in the 8th minute.
Mainz gave the hosts another chance to extend the lead as Moussa Niakhate flicked on a corner with his hand inside the box. Finnbogason stepped up once again and made no mistake to double the lead from 11 meters in the 34th minute.
After the restart, Augsburg remained in control of the proceedings on the pitch meanwhile Mainz continued harmless and uninspired.
The hosts' pressure paid off as Finnbogason wasn't done with the scoring and wrapped up his hat trick after tapping home Jan Moravek's build-up work with 54 minutes into the game.
Despite having sealed all three points ahead of time, Augsburg were still in search for another goal. However, only Finnbogason was able to find the back of the net but his goal was ruled offside.
With the result, Augsburg ended their ten-game winless streak but they still stay on the 15th place and in touching distance to the relegation spots. Meanwhile Mainz slumped to the 11th position after their two-game winning run came to an end.
"This is only a first step. We cannot sit back and relax as we want to progress in the German Cup therefore we have to beat Holstein Kiel," Augsburg head coach Manuel Baum said.
"It is a highly deserved victory Augsburg whereas we staged a poor performance. We never looked good enough to start a comeback," Mainz' head coach Sandro Schwarz said.
Elsewhere, struggling Stuttgart and Freiburg shared the spoils following a two-all draw.
Freiburg broke the deadlock through Janik Haberer before goals from Emilian Insua and Daniel Didavi turned the tides in favor of Stuttgart. Freiburg had the last laugh though as substitute Florian Niederlechner snatched the late equalizer.
