Hannes Wolf's first game as VfB Stuttgart manager ended in a draw this evening, as his side were held to a 1-1 scoreline by VfL Bochum at the Ruhrstadion.
The first goal of the game came 13 minutes into the second half, as Christian Gentner continued his goalscoring form with a clean strike from the edge of the box.
The hosts levelled the game in the 79th minute through substitute Johannes Wurtz, who capitalised on several bounces in the Stuttgart penalty area to slam the ball out of the grasp of Mitchell Langerak.
Chances at a premium in first period
Stuttgart came into today's game in second place in the 2. Bundesliga table, behind league leaders Braunschweig who the Swabians beat 2-0 just three days ago thanks to goals from Toni Sunjic and Kevin Großkreutz.
VfL Bochum were sat in 10th position prior to the match, and have conceded nine goals in their last three matches including a 5-4 thriller at home to 1. FC Nürnberg which boasted a first half containing an astounding six goals in total.
The first half of this match however would not boast any goals at all, with chances coming at a premium for both sides although the visitors did have a penalty claim turned down when Simon Terodde looked to have been tripped in the area when through on goal.
Stuttgart's finest chance of the half would also fall to Terodde, who got himself into the box to receive Florian Klein's cross from deep on the right hand side but could only send the ball over the bar leaving the match goalless.
The referee had another decision to make when Bochum striker Peniel Mlapa went down under pressure in the Stuttgart penalty area and appealed for a spot kick, but instead received a booking for his troubles and was told to get to his feet after he was deemed to have simulated contact.
Bochum were not overly threatening in the opening period of the match, although they too had a great chance to break the deadlock in the 33rd minute when winger Tom Weilandt found himself 10 yards away from goal. The efforts of Großkreutz however were enough to put Weilandt off and leave his finish lacking the required power to beat Stuttgart goalkeeper Langerak.
The goals finally arrived in the second 45
Perhaps the home side used all of their goal threat for the time being in that game against Nürnberg, as they did not particularly threaten the Stuttgart goal throughout the first period. That isn't to say the away side dominated proceedings however, with chances at a premium for the title favourites as well as for the hosts leaving the match finely poised going into the second half.
The deadlock was finally broken in the 58th minute of the match, and it was Stuttgart joint top-scorer and captain Gentner who found the back of the net to continue his impressive start to the season. Gentner had Alexandru Maxim to thank as he showed the awareness to pull the ball back to the captain on the edge of the penalty area, and he made no mistake with a sweetly struck first-time shot that flew past goalkeeper Manuel Riemann to make it 1-0.
Mlapa had a golden opportunity to level the scoring in the 78th minute as he went clean through on goal with no defender in sight, but was unable to beat Langerak who did well to smother the shot from close range.
Bochum fans did not have to wait much longer to see their side grab an equaliser however. Just moments after that Mlapa miss, the ball was whipped into the area before deflecting off several players and finding its way to Wurtz just inside the box, who slammed his shot home with power leaving Langerak helpless.
The home side remained on top for the final 10 minutes of the match, although they couldn't quite find a winning goal thus moving them up just one place in the 2. Bundesliga table to 9th, whilst Stuttgart remain in 2nd place and five points behind Eintracht Braunschweig.