Bochum goalkeeper Timo Horn gutted after critical error leads to loss: “I should have held the ball.” | OneFootball

Relegation-threatened VfL Bochum missed out on an opportunity to gain some valuable points at home against struggling Hoffenheim on Saturday afternoon. In a tight Bundesliga contest at the Vonovia Ruhrstadion, Dieter Hecking’s Revierklub blew a fantastic opportunity to eke out a victory. The visiting Sinsheimers – reduced to ten-men with 20 minutes remaining – were essentially there for the taking.

Unfortunately, a bad goalkeeping error from newly installed No. 1 Timo Horn ended up costing the hosts the match. Horn fumbled a meek distance effort from TSG attacking midfielder Tom Bischof in the 72nd minute. Shorthanded Hoffenheim ended up holding on for a slender 1-0 victory. Horn’s elation at returning to Bundesliga football after a long hiatus now finds itself snuffed out.

“No need to mince words, I should have held the ball,” Horn remarked in his post match interview with Sky Germany. “I’m not looking to make excuses. Disappointment weighs down on me. This was a great chance for the team to move up the table. I’m truly sorry for the team, who did play a great game.

“The worst thing will be waking up tomorrow morning with that on my mind,” Horn continued. “It’s very bitter to lose the game with a goal like that, but unfortunately things like this happen in football.”

Bochum’s crazy week saw them (presumably) pick up two valuable points bureaucratically. Even that, however, isn’t entirely certain yet. Lead striker Philipp Hofmann perhaps had this on his mind when commenting on the rough month ahead in his own Sky interview. The 1848ers must face Bayern Munich, Eintracht Frankfurt and Bayer Leverkusen before March is out. VfB Stuttgart then await at the beginning of April.

Hofmann at least agreed with Horn about the team’s performance on the day.

“We were the better team and actually played very well,” Hofmann said. “It’s extremely bitter. During our phases of pressure, we somehow needed to force a goal. And over at the other end, Hoffenheim had the quality to score from one single scene.

“These will be difficult games,” Hofmann said of the three forthcoming fixtures. “We won’t be getting twelve points out of them. We’re still very stable right now and just need to not buckle. The big opponents arrive. We’ll just see what happens.“

GGFN | Peter Weis