VfL Bochum earned their first point in the Bundesliga. VfL coach Thomas Letsch thought that more could have been achieved in the 1-1 draw against Borussia Dortmund.

VfL Bochum has done it again. After two terrible performances, coach Thomas Letsch’s team showed the hoped-for reaction against Borussia Dortmund at home in the Ruhrstadion. The Revierderby ended 1:1 (1:0), the VfL has the first point of the season.

After the final whistle, Letsch was met with chants from the east stand. Because of the good performance, but certainly also because of his 55th birthday. “I was pleased, but I don’t like it that way. I’m not the type who likes to stand alone.”

Like the coach, his team feels most comfortable as a collective. “I am absolutely proud of this united performance. We played bravely, passionately and aggressively from the start.” On the result, however, he still wavered a bit at the press conference.

“We’re happy with the point, it’s a deserved draw, even if a little part of me says there could have been more.” Unlike in Stuttgart (0:5), VfL rewarded themselves early on. “In the last game we had the chance in the second minute the huge chance that we don’t make, that does something to the team. And in the same way, the goal pushes you. “

Kevin Stöger (13.) scored a dream goal to take the lead. Spurred on by the 1:0, the first half went clearly to Bochum. Dortmund only became more pressured in the second half. “It was clear that there would be a period of pressure at some point, and unfortunately we didn’t quite manage to survive. Donyell Malen equalised for the final score of 1-1 (56th).

The question remains what has changed compared to matchday 1. If you go purely by the line-up, the answer is Matus Bero. “You saw how much metres he reels off, everything at top speed and he doesn’t get tired.” Letsch had repeatedly heralded the newcomer as a key player in the run-up to the game.

“He goes deep himself, opens up holes for teammates or creates scoring chances himself.” He said his team had lacked this component before. “Matus played exactly as I hoped he would.” However, Letsch did not want to single out any player in particular that afternoon.

In the same way, he said, the world was not immediately back to normal. “Everything happens very quickly with us,” Letsch knows. “Very quickly everything was terrible and now everything is still not good.” Letsch did, however, feel a little satisfaction, as criticism of the system and the direction was voiced immediately.

“If you stay true to your plan and don’t immediately throw everything overboard, then you will get out of it. And everyone has a part to play in that.” That’s why he hopes the derby will also give him a boost for the upcoming away game (2 September, 3.30pm).

“It’s about us performing exactly the same in Augsburg. They play differently, have a different structure where we have to adapt things, but we have to bring our basic principles onto the pitch.” Then it can also work out with the first three points of the season.