SV Sandhausen remain one of two pointless sides in the 2. Bundesliga table, as Robert Tesche gave VfL Bochum a 1-0 victory at the Ruhrstadion.
The hosts struggles to find their range in the first half, but Tesche put them ahead in scrappy style nine minutes after the break.
Kevin Behrens hit the bar in the latter stages for Sandhausen, but they would have to accept another defeat.
Hinterseer closest as Bochum struggle to find the net
Bochum, looking to build on their win against MSV Duisburg two weeks ago, made just one change from that game, with Tom Weilandt replacing Sidney Sam, who saw red in that match. They would also have been keen to put their DFB-Pokal defeat to SC Weiche Flensburg 08 behind them quickly. Sandhausen came into the game rock bottom after two defeats, and named the same team that beat Rot-Weiß Oberhausen 6-0 in the Pokal, meaning Niklas Lomb remained in goal in place of Marcel Schuhen after his shaky display in the defeat to Hamburger SV.
Chances were few and far between in the early stages of the game, the majority of which was being played in the Sandhausen half. Tim Kister headed an early Sandhausen corner wide, with Maxim Leitsch doing likewise at the other end. The closest either same came was when a Miloš Pantović free-kick sailed by Lomb and, thankfully for the goalkeeper on loan from Bayer Leverkusen, wide of the far post.
In open play, the final ball was lacking from the hosts. A couple of crosses from Robbie Kruse failed to find a blue shirt in the middle of the box. In between, he had a shot himself as well, found by Anthony Losilla, however the effort drifted past Lomb’s goal. Those chances were nothing compared to the one Lukas Hinterseer had though. Pantović cross found him unmarked, but his header was not out of reach of Lomb.
That seemed to jolt Sandhausen into life, but that was to no avail before the break. Manuel Riemann had to punch clear a Philipp Klingmann corner, but that was about all he had to worry about before the sides went in for half-time goalless.
Tesche goal enough for all three points
It didn’t take long for the second half to get going, with Weilandt finding Hinteerseer who nearly scored with an excellent strike within the first 30 seconds, only do see the ball scrap the bar and go over. Another effort from the striker, from outside the box, would be saved by Lomb, whilst at the other end Felix Müller struck wide.
Bochum would take the lead not long after this. A corner was initially clear but found its way back to the corner taker Pantović on the right, who crossed in. The ball went off several players, including Hinterseer, who hit it into a Sandhausen defender before it went back to Tesche. He wasted no time in poking the ball into the back of the net.
Despite his side taking the lead, Kruse’s evening ended in frustration. He had another couple of chances, one blocked and one saved, before his was withdrawn, and he took out his angst on someone on the Bochum dugout. It wasn’t going much better for Sandhausen though. Tim Kister headed a corner into the hands of Riemann, whilst substitute Andrew Wooten struck well over and Fabian Schleusener was dispossessed in the box before he could shoot.
There were more chances for Bochum before the end, yet Sandhausen came desperately close to earning a point they didn’t really deserve. A header from Kister presented a superb opportunity for Behrens to equalise. His shot went agonisingly off the bar. They could take only small comfort from the fact they were off the bottom, but only because Duisburg had lost 3-0 to SC Darmstadt 98.