Defeat at Hoffenheim

VfB led TSG Hoffenheim until the 85^th minute on Bundesliga Matchday 24 thanks to Wataru Endo’s strike, but Pellegrino Matarazzo’s side conceded two late goals from defensive errors to lose 2-1.

Chances at both ends

Roared on by over 2,200 VfB supporters in Sinsheim, Matarazzo’s side made a determined start to the game and could have taken the lead in the 19^th minute, but Chris Führich failed to find the net after fine build-up play from Tiago Tomas. VfB were fortunate not to fall behind two minutes later when Pavel Kaderabek struck the crossbar, but there was no separating the teams in a goalless first half.

VfB stunned late on

Endo fired VfB into the lead in the 58^th minute – and the visitors held on to that advantage until five minutes from time. Christoph Baumgartner pounced on a defensive mistake to restore parity before capitalising on another VfB error to leave the visitors – who were just minutes away from what would have been a crucial victory – empty-handed.

The goals

58^th minute: Omar Marmoush’s corner is headed on by Sasa Kalajdzic and Endo prods home from close range to give Stuttgart a 1-0 lead.

85^th minute: Baumgartner works his way into the penalty area from the left flank and fires an unstoppable shot past Florian Müller into the left corner of the net.

90^th minute: Baumgartner is left unmarked in the VfB area after Konstantinos Mavropanos inadvertently diverts a cross into the path of the 22-year-old, who makes it 2-1 from point-blank range.

VfB head coach Pellegrino Matarazzo: “For a long time it was a good performance and we took a 1-0 lead. Going home empty-handed is extremely frustrating, but what I can promise is that this team will get back up, come back and keep on fighting.”

Pascal Stenzel: “This is incredibly disappointing. If we don’t get all three points we should be getting at least one, but we didn’t manage that. We became too passive towards the end of the game. We have to keep working until the end and keep at it.”