VfL Bochum didn't show any weaknesses and made it through to the second round of the DFB Cup.
Coach Thomas Reis' Bundesliga team won 3-0 (2-0) at regional league club Viktoria Berlin on Saturday. In front of 5573 spectators in the Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn-Sportpark, the goals of Simon Zoller (18th minute) and Takuma Asano (22nd) provided clarity early on. Newcomer Philipp Hofmann made it 3-0 (65th). The Berlin state cup winner fought, but was too often overwhelmed with the game of the Ruhr area club.
Bochum's coach relied on almost the same team that started the last friendly against Antalyaspor (6-2). Only Jannes Horn was new in the starting XI. However, the newcomer from 1. FC Köln had to be replaced injured in the 27th minute. The Ukrainian Ivan Ordets started in central defense and, as already indicated by Reis, made his competitive debut for VfL.
At the regional league, coach Semih Keskin fielded an extremely young team. Only two players in the starting lineup were older than 23 years. The third division relegated has a massive upheaval behind it.
That was evident from the start on the field. At first, VfL became dangerous mainly after corner kicks. In the 18th minute Kevin Stöger then sent Gerrit Holtmann into the penalty area with a nice pass. The 27-year-old played low to Zoller, who pushed the ball in from a good eleven yards.
The Bochum came into the game better and better and on other occasions. The defenders of the Berliners were too often not close enough to their opponents. Asano completed a nice combination on submission by Hofmann to make it 2-0. In the 36th minute, Christopher Theisen missed Viktoria's great chance to score the goal.
The Berliners became bolder after the break, but ran into a counterattack that Hofmann completed after a cross from Zoller to make the final decision.
