VfL Bochum II’s first home win in the Regionalliga West didn’t come until February against SV Rödinghausen. Coach Heiko Butscher praised the way the team played.

On Saturday afternoon, VfL Bochum II hosted SV Rödinghausen for a bottom-of-the-table clash in the Regionalliga West. The reserve team had yet to secure a home win this season but finally defeated SVR 2–0.

VfL desperately needed the points to stay in touch with safety. Although they still occupy 16th place in the standings after their first home win, Wuppertaler SV is within striking distance with just two points fewer and one more game played. Rödinghausen, in 14th place, also has 18 points—just two more than Bochum.

Heiko Butscher’s team started the match dominantly. Rödinghausen could barely break free, and the VfL created scoring chances—initially from set pieces, later through open play. Niklas Jahn opened the scoring with a curling shot that gave his team a 1-0 lead (14th minute).

It wasn’t until after halftime that the visitors found their footing. Rödinghausen occasionally tried to press high up the field and win the ball back in the VfL zone. But the second team managed to break free effectively. Right in the midst of SVR’s best spell, Luis Hartwig scored the 2–0 goal (58th minute), effectively sealing the match.

“That was an incredibly important win for us. Now the curse on our home games is finally lifted. We didn’t let anything get past us at the back—that just feels really good,” summarized VfL II coach Butscher shortly after the match.

VfL could very well have won by a wider margin. Especially in the first half, the Bochum players narrowly missed the goal on several occasions. For instance, Louis Köster missed the target twice within two minutes, though he did end up in the back of the net himself. “Like in previous games, we played a very solid match. But today we were also very dangerous in front of the goal. In the first half, we could have—or even should have—scored significantly more goals. We still had a few chances in the second half as well, but the way we played was what mattered. We showed that we can win home games and that we’re far from out of the running,” explained Butscher.

VfL Bochum II’s next opponent is Borussia Dortmund II (February 15, 2 p.m.). “We’ve made a comeback. Dortmund is superior to us in terms of quality, but we’ve seen time and again that you can beat teams like that on a good day,” said the VfL II coach, looking ahead.