Bochum claim “Stuttgarter Scalp” in Saturday’s delayed 15:30 kickoff

VfL trainer Thomas Letsch too began in a 4-2-3-1. Three changes to the previous squad were forced. Christian Gamboa (yellow accumulated suspension), Kevin Schlotterbeck (muscular problems), and Kevin Stöger (ill on short notice) were replaced by Tim Oermann, Noah Loosli, and Philipp Förster. Early protests caused the encounter to be the final one of the 15:30 concurrents to kick off.

The two matching formations canceled one another out during what was a quintessentially hard-fought midfield slog in Bochum’s home stadium. Hoeneß’ guests were able to create a couple of half chances at the start, but the match quickly flattened out. Matters became increasingly physical until match official Bastian Dankert was forced to start handing out the bookings near the end of the opening 45.

The start of the second half was delayed for nearly 45 minutes due to security concerns. Among other things, the stadium safety officers had to deal with the fact that protest banners were obstructing the emergency exit routes. Bochum safety officials and even the local fire brigade had to carefully negotiate the removal of a banner brought by the Stuttgart ultras before play could be resumed.

For a time it appeared as if the match would be abandoned entirely. Just as the rest of the Bundesliga’s 15:30 kickoffs were about to wrap up, however, a compromise was reached. Five minutes after the “official” re-start, Angelo Stiller and Dan-Axel Zagadou were both culpable on a VfB defensive meltdown that allowed Mats Bero to score the 1-0.

The favored guests pushed hard for an equalizer and admittedly somewhat unlucky that Stiller and Leweling missed the 1-1 by very fine margins. VfB striker Deniz Undav found himself stymied by VfL keeper Manuel Riemann during Stuttgart’s final push. Württemberger captain Waldemar Anton also missed a late chance at restoring parity.

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