VfL Bochum is looking for its home strength in the final sprint to stay up – the fear of relegation is back.
Dejected and a little incredulous, the Bochum losers stood in front of the east stand. Their fans sang against the frustration, loudly swearing by VfL, which “never goes under”.
But half of the spectators had long since fled the Ruhr Stadium – leaving behind a relegation candidate who lost their home strength in the season finale.
“We were on the bench at home and got great results,” said coach Thomas Letsch after the devastating 5-1 (3-0) loss to VfL Wolfsburg, “something is missing at the moment.” VfL had won five home games in a row after Letsch had taken over from bottom of the table with just one point. Victories against Eintracht Frankfurt or Union Berlin and five weeks ago against RB Leipzig catapulted Bochum over the line.
Broschinski only manages the consolation goal
But after four defeats in the last five games in front of their own audience, not only is the helplessness great, but also the fear of relegation. “The self-confidence has been lost, the toxicity and presence are missing,” said Letsch and demanded a little desperately: “We play at home, we have to believe in ourselves.”
With extremely naïve defensive behavior and sometimes hair-raising mistakes, Bochum made it easy for the Wolves to counterattack and enabled goals from Mattias Svanberg (10th/56th), Jakub Kaminski (21st) and Patrick Wimmer (33rd). In addition, Luca Waldschmidt scored after a missed penalty by Jonas Wind (77th). Substitute Moritz Broschinski (68th) only managed the consolation goal.
So it doesn’t help much that VfL is allowed to play at home three more times on the home stretch. Only the tireless support of the fans encouraged me. “When I see the atmosphere and how all of Bochum supported the team, it makes me optimistic,” said Letsch. And because the competitors in the table cellar also made a mistake on Saturday, you still have it “in your own hands despite everything”. The opponent in the next home game next Friday (8:30 p.m. / DAZN) is league leaders Borussia Dortmund.
Kovac important after an “important” win
In the meantime, more and more opponents have decoded the home game style. “We know that Bochum play long balls. If we win the duels, the second balls, then there is a lot of space. We took advantage of that,” explained Svanberg. The third win in the last four away games still opens up European prospects for Wolfsburg. “That was important,” admitted coach Niko Kovac, “you can’t get anywhere with just one point.”
The game next Sunday (5.30 p.m. / DAZN) against Bayern conqueror FSV Mainz 05, which is two points ahead of Lower Saxony, will point the way ahead. But Kovac predicted that “everything will only be decided on the last day of the game” – not only about Wolfsburg’s European dreams, but also about Bochum’s fears of relegation.