With a lot of luck, 1. FSV Mainz 05 stole a point from Bochum. Two goals for Rheinhessen came from deflected shots. VfL led twice on Friday (October 27, 2023), Mainz 05 equalized twice at 2:2 (1:0). Bochum’s Keven Schlotterbeck was involved in three goals. Both teams remain in the bottom of the table after sharing points.
Keven Stöger rewarded Bochum for their committed style of play (21st) with the opening goal. Mainz, who were weak offensively, were in a huge mess when Aymane Barkok shot at Keven Schlotterbeck in the hustle and bustle, and the ball rolled off his shin and into the goal (59′). Schlotterbeck was also the focus of the third goal when he hit the Mainz goal this time (82′). When Tom Krauss equalized in stoppage time – this time it was the leg of Bochum’s Lukas Daschner – the VfL fans’ dreams of Bochum’s first win of the season collapsed like a house of cards.
Bochum started with concentration and quickly created a huge opportunity to take the early lead: Takuma Asano ran through to the baseline on the left and passed the ball back to the advanced Bernardo in the backcourt. He shot from eleven meters in a central position. Robin Zentner in the Mainz box was lightning quick in the right corner and deflected to the side.
Stöger from the point
When Danny da Costa hit Schlotterbeck in the foot in the penalty area after a corner, referee Patrick Ittrich decided on a penalty after VAR intervention. Stöger loaded goalkeeper Zentner and put the ball safely into the right side of the goal.
As a result, there were a number of offensive actions to be seen – but exclusively on the Bochum side. After just over half an hour, the FSV coach changed twice. In principle, the change to a four-man chain for the Rheinhessen team did not bring about any change: the young Brajan Gruda showed some dribbling until the half-time whistle, but the bottom line was that the Mainz team had not fired a single shot on goal during the first 45 minutes.
Broschinski cheers in vain
Shortly after the break, there was another celebration in the Bochum stadium: Moritz Broschinski coolly sank the ball from 15 meters during a counterattack – but was just offside when the ball was passed. Mainz were significantly more lucky: Even without a chance to score in the second half of the game, it was suddenly a draw when Anthony Caci hit the ball from the left into the Bochum penalty area after a poorly cleared corner and the ball was deflected several times and misdirected by Schlotterbeck’s leg into the goal.
When Bochum’s coach Thomas Letsch sent Philipp Hofmann into the game, he almost scored Bochum’s second goal a short time later: Hofmann, after a pass from the left side, let Sepp van den Berg get out at the right five-square and took a shot – but Zentner defused the shot.
Wild final phase
In the final quarter of an hour, Bochum once again considered the possibility of climbing out of the bottom of the table, at least for the time being. After a corner from Stöger, Schlotterbeck flew towards the goal from deep in the penalty area and heaved the ball into the net of the Mainz goal. Zentner was still on the ball after a spectacular flying display, but was unable to prevent the goal.
Mainz was still trying to end the worst start to the season in Bundesliga history. Barkok shot from about 15 meters, but didn’t hit the ball properly. Goalkeeper Manuel Riemann had no problems picking up the ball. The guests then threw everything forward in the final minutes and got the lucky punch with Krauss’ shot and Daschner’s leg.
Bochum in Darmstadt, Mainz against Leipzig
VfL Bochum will be guests in Darmstadt on matchday 10 (Friday, November 3rd, 2023 at 8:30 p.m.). Mainz 05 welcomes RB Leipzig one day later (3:30 p.m.).