A frenzied first-half in the Esprit-Arena saw Fortuna and Bochum share four goals evenly. Stanislav Sestak bagged a brace on his return to the starting line-up, either side of Charliston Benschop and Michael Liendl's goals. The Ruhr Valley outfit were the better side in the second period, but couldn't make their dominance count in an enthralling encounter.

Taskin Askoy got his reign as Fortuna Düsseldorf head coach off to the perfect start on Sunday, as his side beat 1. FC Heidenheim 1-2 in a hard-fought comeback win. Unsurprisingly he named an almost identical side, with Ben Halloran dropping to the bench for Joel Pohjanpalo.

Gertjan Verbeek would have been devastated to have lost a commanding 3-1 lead against FSV Frankfurt last Friday, to finally draw 3-3 after a flurry of late goals. He picked a largely similar side to that which picked up a point, though he did make two changes. Malcolm Cacutalua and Thomas Eisfeld (suspended) were replaced by Patrick Fabian and Stanislav Sestak.

Fortuna were making all the early ground and were close to opening the scoring twice within the first ten minutes. Charliston Benschop and Michael Liendl couldn't find the target, despite some clever build up play.

The response from Bochum was emphatic, as the hosts were made to pay for the missed chances. Sestak picked the ball up on the edge of the area and curled a powerful shot past the helpless Michael Rensing, with the ball flying into the bottom corner before he could react. It was a sweet strike from the Slovenian, who turned to score a fantastic opener.

After being booked in only the fourth minute Fabian was on thin ice and a few moments after his side had taken the lead, he handed Fortuna an equaliser. He was caught in possession by Axel Bellinghausen and it cannoned to a free Benschop; the Dutch forward made no mistake this time and finished expertly into the top corner from twelve yards out.

It was a frantic start in every sense of the word. Sestak had another long-range curler tipped over by Rensing, while a well-worked corner routine allowed Liendl to strike a brilliant half-volley that rattled the post.

The frenzy showed no signs of slowing down, especially when Michael Esser up-ended Benschop in the box. Though the 'keeper was powerless to get out of his path, leaving Patrick Ittrich with little option other than to point toward the spot. Liendl swaggered up to the ball and confidently and calmly stroked home, sending Esser the wrong way.

Benschop almost doubled his tally and his team's lead, though a smart double-save from Esser prevented Bochum from falling further behind. Verbeek was beginning to get more and more frustrated, though he had his 'keeper to thank for yet another important stop from Bellinghausen.

His intervention proved crucial, as the Ruhr Valley club drew level on the stroke of half-time. Some excellent hold up play by Simon Terodde was matched by some equally poor defending by Fortuna, which meant Timo Perthel managed to bobble the ball to an open and free Sestak who tapped into an open goal. Head coach Aksoy turned away in frustration, knowing his side had given up a deserved lead.

Sestak nearly had his hat-trick in the minutes following half-time, though he turned Felix Bastian's header onto the post despite being just a few yards from goal. Perthel almost sent Bochum into the lead as well, but Rensing made a fantastic save from his dead-ball tunderbolt.

The second-half was proving much less open, as both seemingly tightened their defences on request from the respective managers. The visitors were continuing to push hard and an inspired Rensing was constantly thwarting any attacks.

Both sides wasted free-kick opportunities as the game came to a close, with the points being shared in a fantastic Friday night clash. Bochum stayed twelfth, moving a further point clear of the relegation zone. Fortuna missed the chance to put pressure on the sides above them, although Askoy will be happy after a resolute second-half performance.