VfL Bochum left the Bundesliga relegation zone after beating Hertha BSC 3-1 (2-0). The Westphalians celebrate their third win in a row.
Berlin’s coach Sandro Schwarz was still gesturing with the referees, while his players crept to the Hertha BSC fans with their heads hanging. At the other end of the stadium, Bochum applauded their supporters and chanted: “No more second division!”
In the case of the old ladies, on the other hand, sheer sadness prevailed. “If we perform like today, we don’t need to talk about points. We have to run, fight, bite for that,” commented Berlin’s Marco Richter after the 1: 3 (0: 2) at VfL Bochum on Sky and stated: “Fast check it off, that was shit today.” Maximilian Mittelstädt added: “It’s annoying when you get three balls on goal and everyone’s in.”
Philipp Hofmann (22nd/57th) and winter newcomer Keven Schlotterbeck (44th) scored the goals in Bochum’s first competitive win against Hertha since August 2009. Suat Serdar (87th) scored the goal to set the final score.
Under coach Thomas Letsch, who took over VfL at the end of September with just one point, Bochum scored 15 points and their home strength is reminiscent of times long past: VfL last won four times in a row at the Ruhr Stadium in 1997 under Klaus Toppmöller.
VfL Bochum ensures clear conditions against Hertha BSC
“It was great, it’s awesome in this stadium. The audience gives us a push,” said Schlotterbeck. With the fourth home win in a row, VfL has pushed the relegation zone and Hertha even deeper into the table basement. After four bankruptcies away from home, the capital city club, which is always in crisis, is second to last in a row.
Letsch called on Schlotterbeck on loan from Freiburg in central defence. His opponent Schwarz, on the other hand, had to do without his new striker Florian Niederlechner (taken from FC Augsburg) due to muscular problems. In addition, the Berlin top scorer Dodi Lukebakio was missing due to a yellow card suspension.
Bochum had the first chance through their captain Anthony Losilla (5th), but first the guests cheered: After a heel trick by Richter, Lucas Tousart hit the corner – but after video evidence the goal was withdrawn because Jean-Paul crossed Boetius the ball had already crossed the goal line (11th).
The Kölner Keller had nothing to complain about eleven minutes later at the Bochumer 1:0. After a cross from Philipp Förster, Hofmann headed in, although he was surrounded by three Berliners. Kevin Stöger, who initiated the attack, just missed the 2-0 – his free kick from 18 meters touched the crossbar (34th).
VfL Bochum: Schlotterbeck scores on the debut
The increasingly superior hosts managed to score the second goal before the break: Schlotterbeck headed in after a Förster corner – again the Hertha defense just watched.
After the break, Berlin pushed for the goal, but an exemplary counterattack that Hofmann initiated himself brought the decision: Christopher Antwi-Adjei crossed from the left and Maximilian Mittelstädt deflected Hofmann’s shot from keeper Oliver Christensen.
VfL Bochum – Hertha BSC: The voices
Thomas Letsch (coach VfL Bochum): “Hertha were more dominant until the goal was disallowed. It took us up to 1-0 to get into the game. Because of our passion and mentality, we got better and better. You could see the unconditional will. There’s no other way in the Bundesliga to be successful. All in all, it was a deserved win. We showed again that we’re a team that believes in it.”
Sandra Schwarz (Hertha BSC coach): “A deserved victory, you have to say that very clearly. With the unfortunate situation in the game, which unfortunately went against us, we failed to bring the game to our side, but we still had control of the game. After Bochum’s lead, we’re not good reacts, with too little intensity and aggressiveness. Symptomatic for today’s game is the corner statistics – 6:1 for us, but at the end of the day the opponent used two set pieces to score. That was too little today, too few sprints against him Ball, that’s not our claim.”
VfL Bochum – Hertha BSC: The lineups
VfL Bochum: Riemann – Janko, Ordets, K. Schlotterbeck, Danilo Soares – Losilla, Stöger (Osterhage, 80th), P. Förster (Kunde, 59th), Zoller (Asano, 72nd), Antwi-Adjei (Holtmann, 72nd) – P. Hofmann (Ganvoula, 80.)
