A solitary strike from Andreas Voglsammer and a dogged defensive performance was enough to ensure Arminia Bielefeld secured a 1-0 win over VfL Bochum.
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Despite being beaten 2-1 by a late Greuther Fürth goal last weekend, Jürgen Kramny opted for the same starting side bar one as Fabian Klos replaced Steffan Lang.
For Gertjan Verbeek, it was a case of welcoming back several players from injury as Timo Perthel, Pawel Dawidowicz, Jan Gyamerah, Tom Weilandt and Nils Quaschner returned to the line-up. Dominik Wydra, Gökhan Gül, Nico Rieble, Arvydas Novikovas and Johannes Wurtz all dropped out from the 2-2 draw at Dynamo Dresden.
Voglsammer finishes off clinical counter
Bochum were in control of the early stages of the game, and zipped the ball around on a surface that was still white with frost in the Bielefeld half. That only lent itself to a snappy style of play but the visitors, while their passing was probing, failed to find the crucial touch as Alexander Merkel was twice denied by brave blocks.
Verbeek's men had been working on set pieces in recent weeks and a combination of Wolfgang Hesl's smart save from Tim Hoogland's header and Anthony Losilla's poke wide ensured that Bielefeld were able to breathe a real sigh of relief. The pressure was great and constant, but they had survived.
However, despite being the better side Bochum would fall behind to a superb counter attack from their hosts. A good piece of combination play from Klos and Manuel Prietl put Michael Görlitz into acres of space on the left. He burst clear and delivered a great ball to the near post, where Voglsammer chested the ball past Manuel Riemann.
After that, Bochum managed to hold their own but had Riemann to thank for a save pair of hands in dealing with Sebastian Schuppan's effort. At the other end, the Ruhrpott club went agonisingly close with the returning Dawidowicz's header. His glancing blow almost crept in at the near post, yet Bielefeld held onto their lead until half-time.
Hesl key in vital win
The restart saw Bochum make a change, with Weilandt only managing 45 minutes on his return before being replaced by Novikovas. Voglsammer went close with a back post header but there was concern when Julian Börner went down clutching his shoulder. Unfortunately for Bielefeld, he had to be replaced and Malcolm Cacutalua came on.
Bochum were dealt another injury blow themselves moments later when Gyamerah went off for Selim Gündüz while clutching his hamstring. Arminia were seeing down the time comfortably and Bochum were continuing to get more and more frustrated, a combination that didn't bode well if they were to get back into the game.
However, with just five minutes left there would be one final onslaught from the visitors. Hoogland struck one just wide from 25 yards before Peniel Mlapa's half volley from the edge of the area was brilliantly tipped over by Hesl. The stopper would prove Bochum's nemesis, crucially, once more as he spread himself to keep out Hoogland again.