Bochum draws courage in the relegation battle

VfL Bochum celebrated its second win of the season in the Bundesliga against FC St. Pauli and gained new courage in the relegation battle. Coach Dieter Hecking’s team defeated the promoted team 1-0 (0-0).

In front of 26,000 spectators in the sold-out Bochum stadium, Philipp Hofmann scored the decisive goal for the hosts (67th minute). According to video evidence, St. Pauli’s Adam Dzwigala (90+4) was shown the red card for a serious foul on Dani de Wit.

VfL is still bottom of the table with nine points, but is now putting pressure on the competition ahead of them – including FC St. Pauli. The Hamburgers missed out on getting some extra breathing room. They have five points more than the Revierclub.

Bochum can also hope that the DFB sports court’s ruling on the game at Union Berlin will stand and that VfL will receive two additional points.

“We don’t need to downplay the importance of the game,” Hecking said on Sky shortly before the game. His team went into the game with corresponding commitment. Bochum’s will to win was clearly noticeable. However, it quickly became clear how limited VfL’s resources are in the game. A long-range shot from Maximilian Wittek in the 2nd minute was the only finish the Bochum fans saw from their team for a long time.

It was only Bochum’s second win of the season

St. Pauli initially limited themselves mainly to defense. The Hamburg team tried to switch quickly after winning the ball. However, that didn’t really work. It was clear to see that the two most offensively harmless teams in the league met.

It wasn’t until half an hour later that things became really dangerous for the first time in the foggy Ruhr Stadium. Gerrit Holtmann got ahead of Hauke ​​Wahl, moved into the penalty area from half-right, but pushed the ball just past the goal.

Despite the poor performance on the pitch, both fan camps cheered on their teams tirelessly. Many fans held up their cell phone lights and lighters to the halftime song “Don’t Stop Believin'” by Journey. Don’t lose faith – this motto also applied to VfL.

However, the guests had the first chance after the restart: Oladapo Afolayan crossed to Jackson Irvine, but the captain headed over the goal. Hofmann did better on the other side. The center forward jumped with full physical effort into a cross from Moritz Broschinski, who had just been substituted, and pushed the ball over the line with his heel.

St. Pauli now tried to switch to attacking football. However, the guests were hardly able to assert themselves on the offensive. This is how Bochum managed to maintain a narrow lead over time – and in the end they still had the majority.