A fantastic game at the Eintracht Stadion saw VfL Bochum come out on top thanks to an inspired Michael Esser and a brace from Simon Terodde.
Thorsten Lieberknecht's men had a topsy-turvy start to life back in the 2.Bundesliga. A win, a loss and a draw to open the season may show inconsistency, but considering two of those games were away to Fortuna and Kaiserslautern, it isn't a bad beginning to the season. The Lions were missing Saulo Decarli, Jan Hochscheidt, Jan Washausen and Torsten Oehrl for the crunch clash. Nevertheless, it was still a mighty strong Braunschweig starting side. They made two changes to the side that fell to a 2-1 defeat to Kaiserslautern; as Hendrick Zuck and Matthias Henn dropped out for Raffael Korte and Damir Vrančić.
Bochum continued their great start, compared to last season, after a hard fought 1-1 draw with Union Berlin. Simon Terodde was in fine form, hitting four goals in his last three games. However, less than an hour before kick off, they lost goalkeeper and captain Andreas Luthe to a back problem. That meant Michael Esser stepped in as the only change for Peter Neururer's men. Thankfully for him, only Jan Gyamerah was his only other injury worry. Bochum were still unbeaten, through league and cup, and were keen to keep up their fine form in Braunschweig.
Despite their captain being missing, Esser was confident from the get-go. The stand-in custodian was out well to claim an early cross, a reassuring sight for Bochum players and fans alike. While confidence was radiating off of the entire Bochum team, it was Simon Terodde who struck the first blow. Stanislav Šesták drove at the heart of the Braunschweig defence, before playing a lovely slide-rule pass through to Terodde. The 2.Bundesliga's top scorer bore down on goal, before smashing a fantastic finish over the oncoming Rafał Gikiewicz. A composed and deadly finish, a summary of Terodde's season so far, had his fifth in four games and had given his side the perfect start.
However, just twelve minutes later, the hosts were level. The dangerous Mirko Boland drifted in from the left-hand side, before unleashing a powerful drive into the bottom corner. Esser was helpless to stop the shot, with it perfectly placed from Boland's right foot. The winger did well to create the chance, drifting past Bochum players who didn't want to foul him in such a dangerous position, then finishing with aplomb. The came had started at a frightening pace, end to end stuff was the order of the day, as Šesták and Raffael Korte were pulling off the front line and creating space out wide.
Esser was quickly canceling out any doubt surrounding his abilities in goal. After doing well to deny Håvard Nielsen from a cross, he then produced a superb reaction save from Dennis Kruppke to keep parity. The second-choice shot-stopper somehow managed to turn away an easy tap-in from the Braunschweig captain, then was at his feet quickly to snuff-out another possible chance. Just before half-time, Michael Gregoritsch wasted a great chance to send Bochum into the lead once more. The Austrian rose highest to meet Yusuke Tasaka's well-angled costless-kick, but the former-Hoffenheim player sent his header inches wide of the post.
The game picked up from where it left off, straight after half-time. Nielsen burst away down the left, his blistering pace allowed him time to pick out Kruppke, but he was halted by a resolute Esser. Pinball in the Bochum box insued, but they were able to break away, despite the fervent penalty appeals from the home side. Gregortisch almost had another chance to head home at the back post, only for Damir Vrančić to get a crucial touch first. The hosts had started to take control of the game, limiting Bochum to a counter-attacking game. Boland and Ryu Seung-woo were causing trouble for Timo Perthel and Stefano Celozzi, but it was Celozzi who almost had VfL back in the lead.
His speed opened up the right side and he fed Tasaka, but the Braunschweig back-line managed to clear the ball before Terodde could pounce. The rain then made an appearance, though that only aided the speed of the game. Peter Neururer's wonderful blue umbrella then made an appearance; as did Nielsen in the box, but the Norwegian couldn't direct his header on target. Norman Theuerkauf then had to be alert to block Danny Latza's curling shot, which would have left Gikiewicz scrambling. Tasaka also went close, but it took another fine block to stop Bochum.
From that resulting corner, which the Japanese international took, the away side took the lead. His corner came off Jan Šimůnek's head, before falling to an unmarked Simon Terodde at the back post. The striker, who scored just five goals for Union last season, stooped to nod in his sixth of the campaign and send Bochum fans into dreamland. That goal took the wind out of Braunschweig's sails, with both sides having exhausted themselves mentally and physically, the game drew to a close. Not before Piotr Ćwielong missed a gapping open net, a chance which anyone could have put away.
This Bochum side is a world away from the one that just about staved off relegation last year. Neururer's men have a fresh lease of life around the club and could very well go up, if they maintain this form. Simon Terodde can't stop himself from scoring and has fired the Ruhr valley side to the top of the table. Braunschweig's season hasn't got started yet. However, after a difficult run of fixtures, that form should improve after the international break.