Patrick Osterhage almost became VfL Bochum’s match winner with his dream goal. He then deflected a shot unstoppably to equalize.
The headlines were all set, 1-0 thanks to Osterhage’s strike, but things turned out differently. VfL Bochum conceded a 1-1 equalizer against Werder Bremen – partly thanks to the involuntary help of Patrick Osterhage.
Osterhage deflected Bremen’s Niklas Stark’s shot unstoppably and the ball went off the crossbar and into the goal. “I think next time I’ll just let the central defender shoot from there. Then probably less will happen,” said the almost-matchwinner.
“It’s brutally disappointing that we didn’t win another game like this late on. It’s not the first time this season.” He also felt reminded of the late draw against Mainz.
“It was a scrappy game, neither team played well. We didn’t show what we’re capable of either,” continued Osterhage. “And then in these conditions, it’s about other virtues, you have to work your way into the game. “
“VfL Bochum – Werder Bremen January 14, 2024” src=“https://forecasting-sports.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/1.773_norm-1.jpg” width=“680” height=“471” /☻
This worked better in the second half. Bochum took the lead through what Osterhage described as the best goal he has ever scored. “I had quite a lot of space on the left, I was still looking for a pass because I was already quite far away from goal, but I couldn’t find one.”
Opponent Niklas Stark closed down the left corner. “Then I could only pull the ball towards the far corner and hit it well, I don’t hit it like that every day.” The fact that the ball sinks into the goal behind Werder keeper Michael Zetterer was intentional.
“If I shoot it with my full instep, Zetterer has a better chance.” The result was a dream goal that also had VfL coach Thomas Letsch raving. “I was lucky that I was in the path of the ball.”
Letsch continued: “‘Paddy’ has developed really well and I’m delighted that he was able to finish in this situation and had the courage to take the shot. He has a good left foot, is an important player and now he also has a goal threat.” Sporting director Marc Lettau could only agree with this
We were aware that Paddy has a lot of potential. In the end, it’s all about playing rhythm, he’s now an important pillar
Marc Lettau
“At first I thought, where does he want to dribble to, he lacked a bit of conviction and suddenly he unleashes the shot. It was a beautiful thing,” said Lettau. “We were aware that Paddy has a lot of potential. In the end, it’s all about playing rhythm, he’s now an important pillar.”
Osterhage himself also cited this as the main reason for his current form. “If you have confidence and rhythm, then things like that go in. But if you don’t win the game and get the goal so late, it’s always brutally disappointing and the goal is secondary.”
Which brings us back to the initial problem. It is now the eighth draw. “We have to work on winning these games, no matter how. Against Mainz it was a deflected goal, now again. It looks unfortunate, but I still believe that you can win these games by defending better, finishing situations better, keeping possession and that’s what you have to work on. “