14th matchday
3-1 against Bochum: Hoffenheim ends their home misery
Hoffenheim’s Andrej Kramaric (l) scores the goal to make it 2-0. photo
© Uwe Anspach/dpa
A strong Andrej Kramaric ensures that TSG Hoffenheim once again offers their fans a convincing home performance after a long dry spell.
At the start of the 14th Bundesliga matchday, the Kraichgauer team prevailed against the relegation candidates with a well-deserved 3:1 (2:0). The guests suffered another setback after five unbeaten games.
In front of only 16,023 spectators, Erhan Masovic initiated Bochum’s defeat with an own goal (32nd minute). The very eye-catching Andrej Kramaric with his fifth goal of the season (43rd) and substitute Ihlas Bebou (76th) then scored for Hoffenheim. The 1:3 goal by Goncalo Paciencia (90th) came too late for Bochum.
Coach Pellegrino Matarazzo’s TSG team settled into sixth place in the table regardless of the outcome of the other games this weekend. Previously, TSG, who were strong away from home, had only won at home against Wolfsburg.
Honoring the U17 World Champion
Before kick-off, Hoffenheim’s U17 world champion Max Moerstedt was honored with an award. In the winter, the striker will take part in the preparation with the TSG professionals for the first time. The hosts went into the game without their previous top scorer Maximilian Beier (six goals), who was ill, but they were still dangerous offensively.
Wout Weghorst, who was most accurate at the time, almost took the lead after less than two minutes, but VfL keeper Manuel Riemann cleared with his feet. Fifteen minutes later, the Dutchman failed to hit the ball correctly from the best position.
Otherwise, Bochum initially largely kept their opponents away from their own goal and repeatedly played forward in a straightforward manner. But when Weghorst shot dangerously in front of the VfL goal for the third time, Masovic maneuvered Riemann’s rebound into his own net.
The fact that Kramaric stood out as a provider was typical of the Hoffenheim game: the Croatian TSG record goalscorer was constantly castled and could be found everywhere. The 2018 World Cup runner-up scored the 2-0 after a quick move himself, after cheekily allowing Matus Bero to slip into space. The 32-year-old has scored against all current first division teams in his career. Kramaric was surprisingly not in the starting line-up last week in the defeat in Mönchengladbach.
Joker Bebou makes everything clear
After the Bochum team had stabilized their defense in the past few weeks, head coach Thomas Letsch’s professionals showed some weaknesses even after the change. Marius Bülter had the chance to make it 3-0, but Riemann saved. Shortly before, the guests had asked for a penalty in vain when Maximilian Wittek was caught by Kevin Vogt and Anton Stach. Joker Bebou then made everything clear with the third goal, even if Bochum briefly regained hope after Paciencia’s goal.