A solitary strike from Thomas Eisfeld was enough to mark his return to action at the Ruhrstadion with the winning goal, as VfL Bochum beat SpVgg Greuther Fürth 1-0.

Team news

Eisfeld's inclusion from the start was Gertjan Verbeek's only change from the side that failed to score against SV Sandhausen last weekend in their nil-nil draw. He replaced Peniel Mlapa, which allowed Johannes Wurtz to join Nils Quaschner in attack.

As for Fürth and Janos Radoki, he opte for four alterations after their 2-0 loss at 1. FC Kaiserslautern. Dominik Schad, Niko Gießelmann, Benedikt Kirsch, Sercan Sararer were restored to the line-up as Adam Pinter, Johannes van den Bergh, Andreas Hofmann and Veton Berisha all dropped out.

Eisfeld opens the scoring

It was a cagey beginning on both sides, despite a clear will to find an early way through. Neither were keen to commit many many forward, yet looked confident when they got into the opposition half. The Shamrocks had a few early efforts at goal, and Sararer's zipping effort produced a save from Manuel Riemann at his near post.

However, the visitors would fall behind after a fatal error. Sararer's attempt to retain possession ended up with him playing an horrific back-pass straight into Wurtz's path. In behind his former employer's defence, he opted not to round Balazs Meygeri and instead played in the oncoming Eisfeld. He slotted into the empty net to open the scoring.

That didn't deter Fürth, and they came close to an equaliser when Schad's stinger from 35 yards was well held by the flying Riemann. Moments later, play opened up in front of the Bochum defence as Khaled Narey moved forward. Yet his pass didn't connect with Robert Zulj, as the Austrian slipped on his way to goal.

The latter stages in the half saw Bochum come back into the game. Selim Gündüz's effort was palmed away by an alert Megyeri, while Wurtz rifled over from the edge of the area after a clever through ball from Eisfeld. Instead, Quaschner was left frustrated at the lack of a cut-back. Nevertheless, the hosts led at the break.

Second half sees no further goals

The topsy-turvy nature of the game showed no signs of slowing in the second half, as Anthony Losilla headed wide just a few minutes in. Serdar Dursun responded, with his flick at the near post failing to get the necessary purchase on the ball needed to turn Narey's cross meaningfully goalward.

Marcel Franke was forced into an incredible last-ditch tackle to deny Wurtz after he muscled Gießelmann to the floor on his way to goal. Then came the two key chances for the visitors. A Jan Gyamerah slip saw Berisha in on goal, yet Riemann was out quickly to deny him. Moments later, the 'keeper stuck out a hand to thwart Kirsch.

Peniel Mlapa had several half chances after he came on, yet the offside flag and a determined Megyeri meant he couldn't find a way through. Fürth heaped pressure on the hosts but couldn't find a way through a stubborn rearguard action. The win lifted Bochum clear of the relegation battle - for now at least - and three points behind the Shamrocks.