After Lucas Höler and Tim Knipping gave SV Sandhausen a comfortable two-nil lead, Tim Hoogland and Johannes Wurtz hit back to secure a 2-2 draw for VfL Bochum.
Team news
There was good news and bad news for the VfL faithful in the week leading up to the game. Hoogland returned but Anthony Losilla and Stefano Celozzi were ruled out. Russell Canouse and Jan Gyamerah were their replacements, while Pawel Dawidowicz was dropped to the bench for Hoogland.
There was just one absentee for Sandhausen, with Tim Kister out injured and he was replaced by Knipping.
Sandhausen earn the advantage they deserve
It was an opening 20 minutes to forget for the fans who had ventured to the Ruhrstadion on Friday evening, with neither side able to string together anything meaningful in attack. Bochum looked especially poor and a shadow of the side that put four past Erzgebirge Aue before the international break came along.
The main opportunities in that period, and throughout the whole half, fell to Sandhausen. Leart Paqarada's free-kick was an early warning shot but was still comfortably off target. Höler then failed to take full advantage after Nico Rieble passed up possession in his wn third, thought the forward's effort was blocked by Hoogland.
Eventually, Sandhausen's impressive start told and Kocak's side took a deserved lead. Some quick and decisive play caught the hosts napping and presented a very favourable three-on-one counter-attack. Jakub Kosecki unselfishly played in Höler, who slotted calmly past the oncoming Manuel Riemann from 12 yards.
It could have been even worse just before the half-time interval, as Philipp Klingmann's cross was headed onto the top of the bar by the lively Kosecki.
Bochum turn things around from two down
The restart saw Timo Perthel come on for Rieble, but it had little effect on proceedings as Sandhausen doubled their lead inside 10 minutes. A free-kick was won on the right flank and a wicked delivery from Paqarada needed just one crucial touch, and Knipping provided a flicked header to shock the home fans once more.
It looked like a totally lost cause but as Bochum do, they normally fashion something that sparks life into their side. After an overhit corner, Tom Weilandt rescued the situation - a sight seen on an ever more regular basis - and lumped the ball to the back post. Marco Knaller lost her bearings and Hoogland headed in on the angle to restore hope.
Just like buses, patience paid off and the hosts had a second within a minute. After Sandhausen lost the ball almost immediately from kick-off, Bochum took advantage and created panic in an already flustered back-line. A Peniel Mlapa knock-down fell perfectly for Wurtz to slam home from the edge of the area and restore parity.
Manuel Gräfe's whistle dominated the latter stages as neither side were able to force anything physical in their attempts to snatch a late winner. Thomas Eisfeld and Daniel Gordon came closest for the respective sides, yet a point will probably please both Bochum and Sandhausen.