DSC Arminia Bielefeld played host to VfL Bochum in a mid-week floodlight Bundesliga fixture on Tuesday evening at the SchücoArena. The Frank Kramer coached Bielefeld side is having a tough season and in the middle of a relegation battle, while newly promoted and tenth-placed Bochum are enjoying a great comeback in the top tier of German club football. But the home side bounced back in style with a 2-0 win courtesy to goals scored by Masaya Okugawa and Patrick Wimmer.

Kramer stayed focused at the pre-match press conference despite the difficult situation for his side. “It’s obviously disappointing, when you lose your own game while the others win. Therefore, it is important to keep our focus on our own performance and avoid any thoughts on other scenarios. The match against Bochum is a very important one and it has to do with important points. Our mantra is to go out and give it all.”

Talking about Bochum, Kramer said: “You just need to have a look at VfL’s points tally to recognise their achievment which deserves full respect. The way they exercise their game is the way you need to play to stay in the league. They have scored their goals in the right moment to earn points. Bochum were always there when it mattered and they have performed.”

Bochum head coach Thomas Reis was full of anticipation ahead of the Westphalian Derby. The VfL gaffer said: “It’s a Westphalian duel. Bochum against Bielefeld is always special. It could well be the case that one or the other tackle will be a bit tougher. I like games like that- We also need these duels to develop further.”

“We still know exactly what our last performances in Bielefeld were like. It will be very, very difficult because Bielefeld are under massive pressure already. The style of play is simple, but still very effective. We need to be focused to be able to gain points against them and keep Arminia at a distance.”

The odds were certainly not favouring Bielefeld, but Frank Kramer’s side displayed a strong and dominant performance in front of their passionate fans. The first half was mainly a midfield affair with both sides producing various unforced errors which paved the way for scoring opportunities at both ends.

Alessandro Schöpf (21′) and Patrick Wimmer (23.) failed to give the hosts the lead, while Bochum’s Gerrit Holtmann was denied a goal by a fine safe by Arminia goalkeeper Stefan Ortega Moreno (37′).

Bielefeld continued to dominate the match in the second half and increased the pressure which resulted in a lead in the 51st minute. Wimmer curled in a perfect cross into the box to find Masaya Okugawa in the box. The Japanese midfielder headed home from a close range to the delight of the home crowd.

Wimmer rewarded himself for a solid performance in the 69th minute when he found the back of the net with a powerful shot to seal a 2-0 for Arminia Bielefeld.

Bielefeld will take on RB Leipzig in their next game with new hope to avoid relegation, while Bochum face Union Berlin.

DSC Arminia Bielefeld 2-0 VfL Bochum

Goals
1-0 Masaya Okugawa (51′)
2-0 Patrick Wimmer (69′)

Line-up

DSC Arminia Bielefeld
Ortega Moreno – Andrade, Nilsson, Pieper, Brunner – Okugawa (90′ Hack), Schöpf (90′ de Medina), Prietl, Wimmer (80′ Kunze) – Serra (61′ Klos), Krüger (61′ Lasme)

VfL Bochum
Riemann – Gamboa, Masovic, Lampropoulos, Soares (46′ Stafylidis) – Pantovic (73′ Novothny), Losilla, Rexhbecaj (81′ Osterhage) – Antwi-Adjei (57′ Bockhorn), Polter (57′ Ganvoula), Holtmann

Match Officials

Referee
Benjamin Brand

Assistant Referees
Christian Leicher, Timo Gerach

Fourth Offical
Norbert Grudzinski

Video Assistant Referee
Benjamin Cortus

Assistant Video Assistant Referee
Christian Fischer