VfL leaves the relegation place
Bochum shakes its first victory since the Bayern spectacle
April 26, 2024, 10:30 p.m
After more than two months without a win, VfL Bochum is finally winning again. At the start of the 31st matchday, the Revierklub achieved an important success in the fight to stay in the league. TSG Hoffenheim seemed to have no chance for a long time – and then left VfL shaking quite late.
With their first win in 68 days, VfL Bochum slowed their free fall in the Bundesliga. After eight games without success, the relegation-threatened Westphalia team defeated TSG Hoffenheim, which had been shockingly weak for a long time, 3-2 (2-0) and left the relegation place for the time being. “It was indescribable, everyone in Bochum was relieved. It was a great game, not an easy one at the end. It feels incredibly good,” said double packer Kevin Stöger at DAZN: “It was important that we had a feeling of success.”
Stöger completed the first three-pointer since the 3-2 win against Bayern Munich on February 18th with a free kick into the corner (34th) and a goal (64th) and Felix Passlack with a courageous effort (45th + 2). The Hoffenheim team, for whom Andrej Kramaric scored twice (73rd, 84th), suffered their fourth away defeat in a row and lost important points in the race for a European Cup place. In addition, TSG keeper Oliver Baumann, who avoided a major defeat, climbed past Toni Schumacher in the Bundesliga record list to become third among the goalkeepers with the most goals conceded (716).
In his third game after being promoted to head coach, Heiko Butscher had to do without the suspended Christopher Antwi-Adjei and Patrick Osterhage, and he also initially placed striker Takuma Asano on the bench. His counterpart Pellegrino Matarazzo trusted the starting eleven, which had recently won 4-3 against Borussia Mönchengladbach.
Referee Stieler takes back a penalty for Hoffenheim
After weeks of decline, the Bochum team began with the courage of desperation – and two great chances for Philipp Hofmann: The center forward failed twice from close range to Baumann (4th and 6th), who directed the ball onto the crossbar the second time. In addition, Stöger narrowly missed the target (10th).
But the storm and pressure phase was quickly over – and Hofmann gave Hoffenheim what was supposed to be a great chance to take the lead: after he hit TSG striker Wout Weghorst in the head in a clumsy defensive move, referee Tobias Stieler awarded a penalty. It took Cologne Keller several minutes to realize that Weghorst had been offside (24′).
VfL shook itself and found its way forward again: first Moritz Broschinski was denied by Baumann, then Stöger curled the ball into the corner from a free kick from 20 meters. On the other hand, Bochum were lucky when Tim Drexler hit the crossbar (36′). In stoppage time in the first half, the guests’ passivity was punished once again: Kramaric did not intervene on a cross, Passlack quickly switched gears and gratefully shot in.
Unlike in many other games this season, when the Bochum team gave up a lead, they didn’t limit themselves to managing the results after the break. VfL continued to storm courageously and were rewarded with their third goal. In the final phase Kramaric made things exciting again.