Takuma Asano almost single-handedly ended VfL Bochum’s winless streak. Coach Thomas Letsch’s team won the Bundesliga basement duel against promoted team Darmstadt 98 2-1 (1-1). The Japanese international scored both goals (25th and 54th minute) for VfL.
The Hessians, on the other hand, were unable to make amends for their 8-0 defeat at FC Bayern in front of 17,810 spectators. Fabian Nürnberger (43′) had equalized, while Lilien captain Fabian Holland was shown a red card after an emergency stop (70′).
Bochum leaves the relegation places
“If you wait so long for a win, it feels good,” said VfL captain Anthony Losilla on the streaming service DAZN. “It was a difficult game, we didn’t expect anything less. It was a tough battle and we are happy to leave the field as winners in the end. Taku was strong in attack.” Thanks to the victory, the Bochum team are definitely in a non-relegation zone after the tenth matchday.
Darmstadt’s coach Torsten Lieberknecht probably initially went into the game with good memories. In October 1992, as a player for 1. FC Kaiserslautern, he scored his only Bundesliga goal against Bochum. For Friday evening he announced that the fans would not necessarily see a treat.
Darmstadt was committed and courageous in the initial phase
Tim Skarke almost refuted his coach’s theory in the early stages, the 27-year-old hit the post with a long-range shot. The ball bounced off the head of VfL goalkeeper Manuel Riemann and then went past the goal and out of bounds (9th). The great opportunity also seemed to have a liberating effect for a short time; the Lilies appeared committed and courageous during this phase.
Christoph Zimmermann and Jannik Müller played for the suspended Matej Maglica and Klaus Gjasula after their red cards in the Bayern game. Holland also returned to the starting line-up after back problems. VfL coach Letsch tried to create the conditions for their first win of the season with two changes.
Asano scores after a misunderstanding in the Lilien defense
Bochum struggled to get really dangerous in front of the hosts’ goal in the first 20 minutes – and then benefited from a serious misunderstanding between Müller and Darmstadt goalkeeper Marcel Schuhen. Asano reacted quickly and scored past shoes to take the lead.
Now the expected battle game unfolded on deep grass in the stadium at Böllenfalltor. Both teams made a lot of bad passes and the spectators hardly saw any combinations. Darmstadt rarely came into the Bochum penalty area, but this one chance shortly before half-time was enough: Nürnberger scored with a header from Luca Pfeiffer to equalize.
Game more disjointed after being sent off against Holland
Asano shocked the hosts early after the break with a low shot from a good 20 meters. The Bochum fans, who had initially caused a lot of smoke with pyrotechnics and a one-minute interruption, could be heard again. Darmstadt responded to the renewed deficit with shots from Skarke, Pfeiffer (61st each) and Nürnberger (68th), among others.
As a result, Holland had to resort to a foul to stop Moritz Kwarteng from making his way to the goal. Referee Marco Fritz immediately showed the red card. The game then seemed more disjointed, with Bochum missing counterattack opportunities in the final phase.
