VfL Bochum’s second team lost 2-1 to Sportfreunde Lotte despite leading 1-0.

VfL Bochum’s U21 team lost 2-1 (1-0) to Sportfreunde Lotte in the Regionalliga West. In front of 349 spectators at their home stadium, the Ruhrstadion, it took just two minutes for them to lose control of the game.

Colin Kleine-Bekel (5th) scored for Bochum, while Samuel Owusu Addai (61st) and Leon Demaj (63rd) were successful for the visitors.

“We played a very good game, had a good game plan from the start, played purposefully up front and were very stable. We absolutely deserved to take a 1-0 lead,” said VfL head coach Heiko Butscher, summarizing the first half. A quickly taken free kick by Keanu Kerbsties found its way dangerously in front of the goal, where Colin Kleine-Bekel pushed the ball over the line—after five minutes, the VfL reserves were in the lead.

“After that, however, we lost possession a few times too many when we could have been even more dominant. In the second half, we wanted to continue playing in the same vein and immediately had our best spell,” said Butscher. Henri Matter had the best chance, but after some nice build-up play from Niklas Jahn (50′), he only hit the post. Butscher emphasized: “We have to be more effective and simply score the second goal.”

Instead, Lotte turned the game on its head with their first two serious shots on goal. “It’s difficult to find the starting point for two minutes of deep sleep. Suddenly you’re behind and you don’t even know why. It wasn’t necessarily deserved, but ultimately you’re playing for points,” said Butscher.

Despite a decent final offensive, the 2-2 score remained unchanged. Bochum II coach Butscher summed up: “We invested everything to get the final punch and still had great chances in the last few minutes. Of course, it’s annoying that we keep playing well but don’t get rewarded for it.”