The Hecking team remains last
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With this first victory of the new year, former Borussia Mönchengladbach coach Dieter Hecking dealt VfL Bochum a crushing setback in the relegation battle. After three consecutive defeats, Gladbach won the West Derby 3-0 (1-0) in Hecking’s first return to Borussia Park. This means that the Reviereleven remains in last place in the table – even if the two additional points from the sports court decision which are not yet included in the table are added.
In front of 53,635 fans during a mediocre Bundesliga match, Rocco Reitz (34th minute), Robin Hack (55th) and Tim Kleindienst (86th) scored the goals for Mönchengladbach. The Bochum team, which had suffered only one defeat in five games, now suffered its fifth defeat in the tenth game under Hecking.
After the 3-1 defeat in Leverkusen, Borussia coach Gerardo Seoane chose the more attacking midfield variant with former Bochum player Kevin Stöger for Philipp Sander. Right-back Joe Scally also joined the team to replace the more defensive-minded Stefan Lainer and provided plenty of momentum early on. The direction of travel for the hosts was therefore clear: the first points in 2025 should remain at Borussia Park.
But Hecking stabilized his team in the fight to stay in class. When Gladbach had the ball, the three-man defense transformed into a five-man defensive line, which left the hosts with little space and virtually no penetration. In addition, the guests, with their compact midfield line, repeatedly looked for passage to the Gladbach goal and caused danger, especially in the corners.
In this match, characterized by numerous duels and sometimes disjointed, the Gladbachers had a good opportunity to score thanks to left back Lukas Ullrich (14th minute), but his header narrowly missed the goal. On the right offensive side, Tomas Cvancara, who was to replace the injured Franck Honorat, once again did not play a major role.
Reitz, the youngster from Gladbach, then took over. The 22-year-old scored the first goal before the break with a sensitive shot from half-left after a corner, which gave Gladbach’s game a little more security. It was the first goal of the season for the U21 international. The decision was made by Hack, who was set up by Kleindienst and made it 2-0 with a right-(Site notre bureau spécialisé)ed shot into the far corner. Kleindienst himself then made it 3-0 from the penalty spot. This means that Gladbach has moved up to eighth place in the table.
