At a packed Ruhrstadion, VfL Bochum ran out 2-0 winners over SC Freiburg on Friday evening. Marco Terrazzino and Tim Hoogland struck either side of half-time to give a massive momentum boost to their promotion push.
Freiburg on top early on
Freiburg began with pace and purpose, closing Bochum down relentlessly. It was that pressure that paid off almost immediately as new signing, Florian Niederlecher was played in on goal by poor play from the hosts. His shot was parried and gathered at the second attempt by Manuel Riemann, however.
There was a similar strike from 20 yards that Riemann had to save in the early exchanges, which came after some smart build-up play. The ball eventually found its way into the path of Marc Torrejón, though his powerful drive was turned behind for a corner. The visitors could count themselves desperately unlucky not to be ahead.
Bochum take the lead
If there was to be an early breakthrough, it seemed certain to be for Freiburg. However, Bochum had other ideas. After Simon Terodde held the ball up from a throw in, Anthony Losilla made a drive run from midfield and shifted the ball out to the right. Onur Bulut collected and whipped in an incredible delivery across the face of goal, which Marco Terrazzino duly met at the back post to give the hosts an early lead.
That took the sting out of the game for a while, with neither side able to create any meaningful chances. Bochum had several close range opportunities blocked by a brave visiting defence and, at the other end, Vincenzo Grifo's free-kicks were proving easy to deal with for Riemann.
Eventually the match-up found form again, but Niederlecher's searching header was palmed over by a defiant Riemann from six yards out. There was a similarly strong save to be made moments later when Immanuel Höhn's headed effort was well held under pressure. Simon Terodde had a late chances for Bochum, but he was unable to convert and his side went into the break ahead.
Mlapa fires warning shot in the second half
Peniel Mlapa was brought on at half-time for goalscorer Terrazzino, and his pace made an instant difference. He raced onto a through ball and thundered a shot towards goal, only for Alexander Schwolow to make an improvised save with his foot.
The resulting corner provided another chance, as Bochum came even closer to putting some distance between themselves and Freiburg. Losilla met the delivery at the near post, flicking the header towards the far upright. Stefano Celozzi looked destined to crash it into the back of the bet, but Christian Günter managed to get the ball clear.
Hoogland secures all three points
After a period where fouls were the order of the day, the hosts eventually got the second goal they had been craving. A cross, in part, proved to be their downfall once more. The ball was cleared out as far as Timo Perthel, who thundered the ball back into the box. His effort was trickling wide but a instinctive flicked finish from Tim Hoogland found the bottom corner and put Bochum on the way to another win.
There was to be an immediate scare, however, as Niederlechner nearly brought Freiburg back into the game straight away. He shot into the side-netting after a dangerous cross from the right, though Bochum survived and could have added to their tally. Janik Haberer was denied brilliantly by Schwolow but not before he had saved from Terodde.
Gertjan Verbeek's side are now fourth and seven points behind Freiburg, although they will look at the promotion race with a much more positive outlook this time round. Christian Streich and his men missed the chance to go top, but still boast a five point gap to 1. FC Nürnberg - that could yet be cut down to three.