Ahead of the matches against Elversberg and Schalke, VfL Bochum also took away many positive takeaways from the spectacular 3-3 draw against Darmstadt.

Anyone who decided to attend the second-division match between VfL Bochum and SV Darmstadt was not disappointed. After an entertaining 90 minutes, the two teams parted ways with a spectacular 3-3 draw.

Six goals were scored in part because the game was marked by several mistakes. Right in the thick of the action: Bochum forward Philipp Hofmann and Darmstadt attacker Marco Richter.

Richter initially drew positive attention from the visitors’ perspective when he set up Fraser Hornby’s early 1–0 goal to perfection. But after Francis Onyeka quickly equalized to make it 1–1, he made a costly mistake: A botched back pass landed at Hofmann’s feet, who coolly seized the opportunity and skillfully lifted the ball over Darmstadt goalkeeper Marcel Schuhen to make it 2-1 for VfL.

Richter was self-critical after the match: “I didn’t see him—I’m really sorry about that. I take full responsibility for that. It hurts me for the team. That shouldn’t happen to me; I have to handle it differently.”

Hofmann, on the other hand, was pleased that his goal-scoring instinct hadn’t let him down in that moment. “That’s what you look for as a striker. It’s just great that it worked out exactly like that,” the forward summed up.

It wasn’t enough for three points, as the 2-1 lead turned into a 2-3 deficit at one point, and in the end, Bochum and Darmstadt split the points. After the game, Hofmann—who received an injection following the match due to acromioclavicular joint issues—still drew a positive conclusion: “It was a strange game, and there was plenty of action. For me, there are a lot of positives to take away. Darmstadt deserves to be at the top, but we’re conceding goals too easily. In terms of what we did with the ball, this was our best game so far under Uwe Rösler. We were very active, but we let too much happen.”

Soccer is simply “a game of mistakes,” according to Hofmann. That made the team’s reaction to the early 0–1 deficit all the more important: “It was just great. “ He added: ”After the break, we were clearly the better team. We had plenty of chances, and I’m proud of what we brought to the field as a team.”

With these insights, VfL Bochum now heads into its upcoming matches—which won’t be any easier, as SV Elversberg and second-division leader Schalke 04 await.