17.01.2010

No points at the debutante ball

The start of the second half of the season was a flop, that much is certain. The start into the future, however, was a success, at least for Patrick Herrmann and Fabian Bäcker.

Their debut may have ended in defeat, despite the goal that Herrmann set up for Bäcker, but the two homegrown Borussia talents are sure to dominate the headlines today and tomorrow. Borussia were missing eight players, and it was evident that nothing much worked, especially in attack. Moses Lamidi, who started alongside Raul Bobadilla, had just as few chances as his team-mates. Both Bochum goals could certainly have been avoided and did not make things any easier against the disciplined, defensive-minded visitors.

"It was a needless home defeat because we gifted them both goals through individual errors. Up front we were far too flat, which made it easy for Bochum to defend against us. In the second half we did much better. But the way the game went we'd have struggled even with the four strikers who were missing yesterday", said Borussia boss Michael Frontzeck. Oliver Neuville and Roberto Colautti, two of the four attacking players sidelined, will probably be able to resume training on Tuesday. Thorben Marx is a doubt, however. The midfielder missed this morning's session, staying in the gym to work on an exercise bike instead. After treatment on Monday it will hopefully become clear when Marx can return to action. He was joined by Dante, whose head was still pounding after a collision with Paul Freier.