Hoffenheim slip to Stuttgart defeat

With the visitors in the WIRSOL Rhein-Neckar-Arena VfB Stuttgart having lost their last five Bundesliga games in a row, TSG 1899 Hoffenheim had a good chance to take advantage of their poor form and close the gap to their opponents to just six points. Marco Kurz made two changes to his side from last week's defeat to Hannover: Roberto Firmino missed out due to suspension and was replaced by Daniel Williams, while Tobias Weis' place was taken by Joselu to see TSG shape up in a 4-2-3-1 formation. Hoffenheim couldn't have made a worse start in their quest for three points though. Just two minutes in, Ibrahima Traore was allowed to weave in and out of defenders on the left flank, before his cross to the back post was headed in off the crossbar by the unmarked Martin Harnik.

Hoffenheim were fortunate in the fact that both Augsburg and Greuther Fürth below them in the table lost in Saturday's action, but if they want to avoid a play-off with the 2. Bundesliga's third-placed side at the end of the season, it is these matches, particularly at home, that they need to win. However, TSG's poor start to the encounter continued, though they were fortunate not to concede again. Traore continued to cause problems on the left and this time his pull back found Gentner, but the midfielder's shot went wide. A third chance to score came within 15 minutes when Harnik's chest down to former Hoffenheim striker Vedad Ibisevic was fizzed towards goal, but that too went the wrong side of Heurelho Gomes' post.

Joselu comes close

Fortunately, the sloppy defensive play didn't last too long and TSG could start to come forward with the ball. A Takashi Usami lay-off to Andreas Beck on the 17-minute mark allowed the captain to shoot, though he failed to test the Stuttgart keeper. A better chance came after half an hour with Usami involved again, but Kevin Volland's shot was closed down before eventually rolling into the hands of Ulreich. The best chance for the home team to equalise in the first half came for Joselu, a scorer in the 3-0 win in Stuttgart earlier this season. He collected the ball centrally outside the box, shifted onto his right foot and unleashed a shot, but a slight deflection sent the ball just inches wide of the target.

With Stuttgart's defence proving to be difficult to play through, a set-piece for TSG after 50 minutes provided an opportunity to test them in the air and it almost resulted in an equaliser. Volland's ball in looked like it would be met by Joselu's head, but when the striker didn't make contact, Ulreich had to be on his toes to turn the original ball in away from goal. Stuttgart gave a brief reminder to Kurz's side that they still had defending duties to do though. The ball fell for Traore on the edge of the box and his powerful half-volley was well pushed away by Gomes.

Augsburg next week

The visitors were more focussed on keeping things under control at the other end though, and barely threatened going forward again in the game. Hoffenheim on the other hand could force a couple more chances before the final whistle. It was the Stuttgart-born Spaniard Joselu who had the best opportunity in the second period as well. A rare error by the away side allowed David Abraham to win the ball high up the pitch and quickly play Joselu in one-on-one with Ulreich, but the VfB keeper came out on top, blocking the striker's shot with his outstretched leg.

TSG tried to push forward in the dying stages but Bruno Labbadia's side continued to be resilient and only allowed one more opportunity, which Derdiyok didn't fully get a hold of. The visitors managed to hang on to claim their first Bundesliga win in six attempts and move further away from the relegation zone, somewhere Hoffenheim remain and now with a 10-point gap to the side above them. Priority number one is still to at least hold on to the relegation play-off spot, and arguably one of the biggest matches for TSG so far this season comes next Saturday against 17th-placed FC Augsburg who sit just one point behind Marco Kurz's side.

Matt Hardy

TSG 1899 Hoffenheim: Gomes – Beck, Abraham, Delpierre, Johnson – Usami, Williams (54' Weis), Polanski (81' Grifo), Volland – de Camargo (54' Derdiyok), Joselu

VfB Stuttgart: Ulreich – Sakai, Tasci, Niedermeier, Boka – Kvist – Harnik (90' Rüdiger), Gentner, Holzhauser (82' Molinaro), Traore (87' Okazaki) – Ibisevic

Goals: 0-1 Harnik (3'), Yellow cards: Williams, Joselu – Boka, Harnik, Traore, Okazaki, Rüdiger, Ibisevic, Attendance: 28,750, Referee: Guido Winkmann

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