Rothosen turn it around in style for first away win since August

Zoller opener kickstarts Rothosen fightback

Relegation-threatened Bochum once again started the half the stronger of the two teams, as Simon Zoller escaped from his marker Rick van Drongelen to receive the ball from Weilandt in the 52nd minute. The Hamburg captain made amends for his mistake, catching up and blocking the Bochum right-winger's effort which was destined to nestle in the bottom right-hand corner of the Hamburg goal. The warning signs were not heeded by the Rothosen as another long ball caused problems for the guests, as Ganvoula flicked on to the unmarked Zoller in the 65th minute. The 28-year-old drove across the face of the box and curled the ball past the Hamburg 'keeper to give Bochum a deserved lead after an enterprising start to the second half.

The Rothosen didn't drop their heads, and turned the game around inside the space of seven minutes. Almost immediately from the restart Dieter Hecking's troops won a corner that Sonny Kittel floated to the near post where the majority of attackers and defenders were positioned. Bochum managed to head the first ball away but only as far as the waiting Tim Leibold who let fly on the volley from the edge of the area, with the ball past Drewes and in off the crossbar before the Bochum 'keeper had a chance to move, a stunning strike from the lieft-back for his first HSV goal. And Leibold was involved in the 74th minute as the comeback was complete. The 26-year-old fizzed a whicked ball from the left-hand side straight into the path of subtitute Joel Pohjanpalo, who had only been on the field a matter of minutes, which left defender Decarli on his backside and the Finn through on goal. The January signing from Leverkusen made no mistake, settling himself with one touch before firing his second past Drewes for his first goal in Hamburg colours. 

The Finn was causing all kinds of problems for the home defence with his directness and movement, and could have had a hat-trick were it not for an outstanding save from Drewes and a header from a Kittel cross which smacked against the right-hand upright. However, it mattered little as Kittel himself put the game to bed three minutes from time, as substitute Gideon Jung did exceptionally well down the left-hand side, freeing space for Schaub who laid across to the unmarked Kittel on the penalty spot. The 27-year-old needed no second invitation, curling beautifully past Drewes to send the 4,000 travelling fans wild and secure the first three points on the road since August 2019 and second win in a row after the Christmas break. The Rothosen will be hoping to repeat the trick on Saturday at home to another team threatened by relegation, Karlsruher SC.