A point that doesn’t help anyone at first: In the Bundesliga, 1. FC Heidenheim and VfL Bochum struggled for a long time and ultimately drew. Despite some chances, neither team could get through.
So it remained 0-0 in the Heidenheim Arena on Sunday (November 26th, 2023). This means that the two opponents remain neighbors in the table: VfL Bochum now has ten points, but is still one point and place behind 1. FC Heidenheim, who are in 13th place (eleven points).
Heidenheim more active, Bochum’s start very poor
It wasn’t a playful treat that the fans got to see in the stadium. The game had actually started promisingly, as FCH winger Eren Dinkci narrowly missed taking the early lead – his direct pass from Jonas Föhrenbach’s cross went into the side netting (2nd).
But after that there were hardly any chances to score. Heidenheim was the more active team, had more ball possession and was stronger in duels (66 percent of duels won at the time). Most of the danger for FCH came from Dinkci on the right, who was also responsible for two of his team’s only four shots on goal in the first half.
Things looked less promising for the guests from the Ruhr area. VfL acted in a defensively disciplined manner and didn’t allow much. But on average, every fourth pass ended up with the opponent, and their own bad pass rate prevented any danger in the attacking third. Significantly: Bochum fired three of its four shots on goal in the first period from a distance.
VfL with better approaches in the second half
After the restart, however, the Bochum team showed improvement. She gained possession of the ball, won more duels and also set the first offensive accent of the second half: Patrick Osterhage’s shot was parried strongly by Heidenheim goalkeeper Kevin Müller (53′). Bernardo also tested Müller from a tight angle (61′) and underlined VfL’s increasing playful superiority.
Heidenheim didn’t think much of it, but he also managed to do a good job at times. After a good hour there were ten FCH fouls in the statistics, Bochum only had four. But the hosts also managed to do something impressive from time to time. So striker Tim Kleindienst moved forward quickly, he quickly looked for a finish, but ultimately didn’t pose any major problems for VfL goalkeeper Manuel Riemann (58th).
Kleindienst misses a great chance to win
The final phase brought another dangerous finish from Bochum’s Takuma Asano (76th), and FCH joker Nikola Dovedan also narrowly missed Riemann (77th).
The teams then seemed a bit worn down by the intense game. And in the end there was a goalless draw – also because Kleindienst not only lobbed over Riemann but also over the crossbar shortly before the end (89′).
Heidenheim in Leipzig, Bochum welcomes Wolfsburg
1. FC Heidenheim faces Leipzig on matchday 13 (Saturday, 3:30 p.m.). Bochum is hosting VfL Wolfsburg at Castroper Straße at the same time.