Sebastian Hoeneß celebrated an extremely important victory in the relegation battle on his Bundesliga debut as coach of VfB Stuttgart. The Swabians won 3-2 (1-0) at VfL Bochum on Sunday in front of 26,000 spectators in the sold-out stadium. As a result, the Stuttgart team left the last place in the table and drew their competitor Bochum deeper into the tight race to stay up in the Bundesliga. VfB is three points behind Revier-Club.
Four days after reaching the semi-finals of the DFB Cup, Hiroki Ito (14th minute), Serhou Guirassy (60th) and new international Josha Vagnoman (63rd) scored the goals for the guests from the South. After 23 league away games in a row without a win, VfB won again on a foreign pitch. Kevin Stöger scored from the penalty spot for Bochum (58′) before Philipp Hofmann (85′) caused tension again. But it wasn’t enough to win a point.
Stuttgart started for the first time since the beginning of February with their long-injured top scorer Guirassy in the starting line-up. However, a defender provided the early lead – with the involuntary help of a player from Bochum. VfL defender Danilo Soares involuntarily passed the ball after a Borna Sosa cross and Ito, who had moved up, had the VfB fans who had traveled with him cheer with a powerful shot.
The 1-0 gave the Stuttgarters security. Hoeneß, who coached with a black VfB cap on his head, could be satisfied. The guests let the ball run well through their own ranks at times and were secure on the defensive. It took almost half an hour before Bochum became halfway dangerous for the first time. A header from Takuma Asano was too unplaced and did not pose any problems for goalkeeper Fabian Bredlow.
There was little to see of the home strength of Bochum, who had previously won six of eight Bundesliga games under coach Thomas Letsch. The VfL professionals ran and fought as usual. Creativity and assertiveness were lacking in the decisive areas on the offensive. At half-time there were cheers, but also whistles from the ranks.
Stuttgart also had the first chance in the second round. Vagnoman went for a solo, dribbled the ball just in front of the goal, but then failed because of Bochum keeper Manuel Riemann. Then it got turbulent: Stuttgart’s cup match winner Enzo Millot grabbed substitute Bochum’s Philipp Förster in the shoulder too hard from the point of view of referee Frank Willenborg in the penalty area. Stöger confidently converted the subsequent penalty.
But Bochum’s joy about it was short-lived. With two goals within a very short time, VfB hit back. First Guirassy scored after a strong cross from the outside of Sosa’s instep. Shortly thereafter, Vagnoman headed it, capitalizing on a mistake by Riemann. VfL didn’t give up, tried everything again in the game and reduced the lead to 2:3. Ultimately, however, Stuttgart brought the victory over time.
