Heading to Bochum with confidence: Elversberg target next points haul

After a successful first match against 1. FC Nürnberg, Sunday brings SV Elversberg’s first away game of the second-division season. In the long-standing Vonovia-Ruhrstadion, manager Vincent Wagner’s team will face relegated Bundesliga team VfL Bochum, who are feeling the pressure after a false start in Darmstadt. SVE will be seeking to bring their compact style of play back to the pitch – and take some points home from Bochum.

After a successful first match against 1. FC Nürnberg, SV Elversberg have their first away game of the second-division season on Sunday. In the long-standing Vonovia Ruhrstadion, manager Vincent Wagner’s team will face relegated Bundesliga team VfL Bochum – and thus an opponent seeking to set things straight after an unsuccessful first match.

VfL Bochum, under manager Dieter Hecking, began their season with a significant 1:4 defeat by SV Darmstadt. The team’s defence displayed some particular issues. They conceded two goals from set pieces, which Hecking felt was down to overly passive defending. Old hand Timo Horn also had some clear words to say after the match: ‘We have come down to earth with a bump and will need to do a lot of things better if we are to survive in the second division.’

Bochum have therefore had an intense week of training. The tone was harsher and analysis was clear. Hecking avoided panic, but emphasised the need to ensure more compact defending. Lastly, they had some staffing issues on the attacking side: both Philipp Hofmann and Moritz Broschinski had to be substituted off against Darmstadt due to injury. They were both able to return to team training on Wednesday and are likely to by match-ready on Sunday – as will recently injured flanker Gerrit Holtmann, who should provide some momentum on the left flank.

Nevertheless, central defender Maximilian Wittek was optimistic about the home game: ‘Of course, we hope to be able to show a different side of ourselves with our fans behind us. The main thing is that we win three points.’ Keeper Horn also highlighted his team’s good preparations – a factor that should benefit VfL as the season continues.

SV Elversberg are aware of the difficulty of their task. Bochum are one of the most ambitious teams in the league thanks to their Bundesliga experience, and will also be particularly motivated due to their poor start to the season. However, SVE have the wind in their sails: their 1:0 defeat of Nürnberg thanks to a late header by Maximilian Rohr brought them not only three points, but also a boost of self-confidence. The team put in a calm, structured performance for much of the match, and Wagner’s eleven particularly dominated play in the second half.

Manager Hecking praised the quality of SVE‘s play in the run-up to the match: ‘They may not have the same individual quality, but their play remains very strong, so they could be a tricky task.’ Although Elversberg underwent a period of particularly significant upheaval compared with the rest of the league, their first 90 minutes of official play have shown that the new team is already operating well.

They will once again be focusing on their defence. SVE allowed very few dangerous shots on goal against Nürnberg, and were able to rely on solid central defence and a brilliant performance by keeper Nicolas Kristof. The VAR intervention in stoppage time that prevented a penalty also failed to put the team off their stride – highlighting Elversberg’s increasingly mature play.

For the match in Vonovia-Ruhrstadion, they will be seeking to survive VfL’s attacks whilst remaining active themselves. Bochum have said that they plan to ‘fight right from the start’, as Wittek put it. A united team performance, a high level of discipline and rapid transitional play could be the key to SVE’s success – especially as Bochum appeared particularly weak in the centre and defence during their first match.

Kick-off is on Sunday 11 August at 1:30 p.m. Around 24,200 tickets have already been sold – so the atmosphere in the Vonovia-Ruhrstadion should be fantastic. SV Elversberg will be arriving with the aim of securing a win in their second match – and therefore gaining more vital points to keep their successful start to the season going.