VfL Bochum won their home match against FC Augsburg 3:2 (1:1) and climbed to a non-relegation place in the Bundesliga.
The cheers at the final whistle were as boundless as if VfL Bochum had already secured its place in the relegation zone. It is still a long way from that, but the 3:2 home victory (1:1) was an enormously important step towards the goal of the season.
Driven by a vociferous Ruhrstadion, the VfL got off to a lightning start. Philipp Hofmann served Christopher Antwi-Adjei on the left. He let his opponent run into nothing with a hook and slammed the ball into the short corner under the crossbar for 1:0 (2nd).
Augsburg tried to respond quickly, but Bochum had early opportunities for counter-attacks. Takuma Asano sprinted across the field with the ball, but after a double pass with Anthony Losilla, he lacked the strength to finish (8th).
The visitors countered this with a tough approach in the duels. Especially Losilla and Hofmann had to take a lot of punishment. In the 28th minute, Hofmann had a great opportunity to make it 2-0, but his header landed only on the net. Instead, FCA equalised in a direct counterattack.
Dominique Heintz lost a duel with Dion Beljo. The ball landed with Arne Maier, who finished flat into the far corner (29th). Shortly afterwards, Bochum had to react for the first time. In tears, the injured Konstantinos Stafylidis had to leave the pitch (36.). He was replaced by the recovered Kevin Stöger. Stöger then unleashed his hammer shortly before the break, but failed to hit Koubek in the Augsburg box (45th).
No matter what Letsch had told his players at half-time, it had an immediate effect. With the restart, Bochum started an offensive assault, Augsburg only stood in the back. After two missed opportunities (51st, 53rd), it was Antwi-Adjei again who sent the Ruhrstadion into a state of emergency.
After a beautiful pass from Stöger, his sharp cross was deflected into the goal by FCA defender Jeffrey Gouweleeuw (59.). But VfL did not let up and went straight after it. Less than two minutes later, a long-distance shot by Losilla was deflected unstoppable – 3:1 (61.), ecstasy in Bochum.
Augsburg tried once again to get back into the game. And they succeeded in the 85th minute. Bochum did not clear the ball consistently enough in their own sixteen. The ball slipped through to Kelvin Yeboah, who scored the final goal. So it was a case of trembling until the end, but VfL managed to hold on to the narrow lead.
The result from Munich was not shown on the scoreboard. But of course everyone knew that FC Schalke had gone down 0:6. As a result, Bochum climbed up the table and will be in a non-relegation spot at least until Sunday.