Refereeing Blunders End 1860's Promotion Dreams

style="float: right; margin-bottom: 10px; font-weight: 600;"Sun 17th Feb, 2013

Another day, another snowfall in Munich. Just over 14,000 fans braved the freezing temperatures to see 1860 München take on relegation threatened Bochum. These two teams have already met twice this season, with today's visitors boasting the better record following a 0-0 draw in the league and a 3-0 win in the German Cup. Perhaps for this reason, Schmidt opted for a very attacking line-up with Friend - back from injury - and Lauth - back from suspension - joining Bobby Wood in the starting eleven. Schmidt was also keen on removing the 'bogey-opponent' label that Bochum arrived with.

Despite an energetic start from 1860 it was Bochum who took the lead after only 12 minutes. Poor control on the edge of the box by Stoppelkamp allowed Kramer to dance past two defenders, before testing Kiraly. 1860 never fully regained their composure and from the resulting throw-in Scheidhauer nipped in ahead of Kiraly and nudged the ball goalwards. Replays later showed that Scheidhauer had in fact used his elbow to score, something missed by almost everyone except Kiraly who immediately sprinted to the linesman in protest.

This was not to be the only contentious decision of the evening. A mere eight minutes later, Stoppelkamp gathered the ball in the Bochum half and played a delicious reverse through-ball to Lauth who had evaded his marker, only to be hauled down clean through on goal. With little hesitation referee Wingenbach reached into his back pocket and issued the red card to Eyjolfsson, to the complete bewilderment of everyone as further replays showed that it was Maltritz not Eyjolfsson who committed the foul.

This left 1860 with over 70 minutes to find a way back into this match and grab three vital points which would push them into fourth place overnight. Despite having 68% possession in the first half and completing 268 passes (in comparison to Bochum's measly 44) 1860 failed to test Luthe in the Bochum goal. Wood, largely ineffective from the right wing, was brought off at half time and replaced by Tomasov whose direct style of play opened up many chances.

1860's first decent chance of the second half fell to Halfar who forced a diving save from the keeper to divert his curling effort around the post. As to be expected Luthe was much busier in the second period and pulled off a number of impressive, reaction saves. After 70 minutes, a goalmouth scramble saw Friend execute a fine overhead kick beating the keeper but his effort was cleared off the line by a hand from a Bochum defender - another poor refereeing decision.

The chances rained down on Bochum's goalkeeper as the match progressed, but it felt like it wasn't going to be 1860's day. Further chances fell to Stahl who volleyed against the crossbar, substitute Kamara, who could only head tamely at the goalkeeper, and Lauth, who performed a bicycle kick with the last touch of the game.

So it proved to be three massive points for Bochum who move away from the relegation zone into twelfth place. It was also the final nail in the coffin of 1860's promotion hopes. 1860 have every right to feel aggrieved. They created enough chances and if it wasn't for some poor refereeing decisions, the game might have turned out differently. However, the truth of the matter is, if you don't score goals you can't win matches - a point echoed by Schmidt in the post-match press conference.

Today's result is one that the Lions will want to forget quickly, especially as next week sees them head to table-topping Braunschweig who have only lost one game all season. There are many positives to be taken from 1860's performance but unfortunately, an inability to convert chances into goals has let them down once again. Two home defeats in a row - the 1860 faithful will be looking for a more positive result next time.

TSV 1860 Munich: Kiraly - Bierofka, Vallori, Buelow, Fathi (84' Kamara) - Stoppelkamp, Stahl - Wood (46' Tomasov), Halfar - Friend, Lauth

VfL Bochum: Luthe - Rothenbach, Maltritz, Eyjolfsson, Lumb - Sinkiewicz, Kramer - Rzatkowski, Toski (46' Acquistapace) - Gelashvili (66' Delura) - Scheidhauer (83' Bertram)

Goals: 0-1 Scheidhauer (10')

Red cards: Eyjolfsson (17')

Referee: Markus Wingenbach
Attendance:
14,100  


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