Kramaric’s 90th Minute strike Reassures point for Hoffenheim in Thriller #1663
Hoffenheim 2 Stuttgart 2FT
On Tuesday night we were in Hoffenheim for an affair regarding the bottom half of the Bundesliga table. Hoffenheim had a very promising start to the season but, slowly, things started tapering off. Although they have a top-three three player this season in Christopher Baumgarner. They have failed to pick up results regularly. Faltered against Union Berlin. Hoffenheim currently sit in 13th, just three points in front of the playoff spot. They've recently lost their most explosive player and have found life difficult over the last several matches. A passionate and explosive Stuttgart crowd would be coming to the Pre-zero arena as they have problems of their own. Stuttgart had a horrible start to the new campaign as they lost several key pieces that kept them in the Bundesliga last season. They struggled very substantially until a new manager has come in and got them back on the right track. Still, they sit just one point from the playoff spot and will need to do a lot to fight off potential survival. Two Bundesliga sides that are in desperately needed points trying to escape the bottom part of the table. Both these teams need points for the exact same reasons. They came into play one place apart at the table. 65,000 filled the pre-zero arena in Hoffenheim for a critical affair regarding the bottom half of the table Hoffenheim and Stuttgart clash horns on a Tuesday night midweek fixture in Germany's top flight.
Hoffenheim supporters coming together and embracing as we approach kickoff in the away section Stuttgart making a ruckus as smoke flares. Hoffenheim looked in control for the majority of their defeat on the weekend. It seemed to be a very evenly matched affair between the two. In terms of personnel, they're quite similar. Hoffenheim and Stuttgart both have more than a decent squad, but their position in the table is not representing the qualities that they have with some of the individuals. However, Hoffenheim came through as the more aggressive side. They earn themselves a corner in the opening minute. In the second minute, a corner thrust in by Angelino landed in the space of Robert Skov who connected from outside the box. Didn't have the accuracy required but nonetheless an aggressive start from Hoffenheim. A little while later in the 8th minute Stuttgart tried to hit back with a long-range effort missing the mark. Hoffenheim found a little bit of magic in the 11th minute a ball played into the box from Angelino before Krameric catches it out of the air in an acrobatic strike burying it into the back of the net as the Croatian gets on the right foot Hoffenheim take a 1-0 lead.
Hoffenheim effectively the way they've moved the ball into the dangerous spaces. Meanwhile, when Stuttgart found its momentum. They looked dangerous. Thiago Tomas especially has that level of brilliance and play-making ability to break down opposing defenses. Early in the game. They look to him to try to make things happen for them. In spite of this Hoffenheim come across as the superior side in a lot of ways. However, this was the same kind of interpretation you could have made last weekend and they came up short. It turned out to be a very physical game. There were a lot of flying bodies strong tackles and just had that sort of element. In the 28th minute. Robert Skov had to be replaced by Akopoguma due to an injury. The Dane is one of Hoffenheim’s most athletic outputs. Certainly an unideal set of circumstances, especially in the opening half hour. In the 30th minute, Akpoguma was played in by Krameric; however, the attempted blow on goal was deflected by the defense as the situation was neutralized by Stuttgart. Then 4 minutes later, it was Hoffenheim yet again. This time. Stiller looked for deep coming off the corner but couldn't quite find the touch He was looking for. As the game progressed on. As we headed into stoppage time in the 45th minute Stuttgart’s Ahamada finds Silas from inside the box fires on goal but Oliver Bauman comes up to make the save. It was Ahamada a moment later this time taking a swipe at goal then in the final moment of the first half in the third minute of stoppage time Stuttgart finds their way through. The visitors were pressurizing the box but Hoffenheim failed to clear it as they struggled to clear the ball out to end the half. Stuttgart regain possession as they were approaching the box Ahamada delivers a sublime through ball to Guirassy as he made a run into the box before following through and picking out the bottom corner Stuttgart get the equalizer as the first half came to a close.
Near the end of the first half, Hoffenheim suffered another injury, with Kevin Vogt having to be removed at the break Dubbur coming in. The first half was relatively evenly matched, but Hoffenheim was the better of the two sides. They earn themselves a very crafty goal to open up the scoring early on but made a critical error in the closing moments of the first half, with Hoffenheim failing to clear the ball out into midfield. A lack of awareness caused Stuttgart to take advantage of a goal that never should have occurred. To make matters worse, they suffered two injuries in the opening half and what was an extremely physical game. So much so Marpavons had blood coming down from his face after having to have his head taped up. Regarding two teams trying to avoid getting thrown into the relegation fight, matches like this are extremely important because both themes are in a similar position in the table. The second half was certainly going to be a chess match between them. Hoffenheim kick things off in the second half and almost capitalized immediately. In the 51st minute, Dabbur picks out a cross for Bebou; the striker follows through on the header but miss times it with a clear chance on go deflected out. He was in a perfect position to follow through and sink it into the back of the net, giving Hoffenheim all the momentum but it remains level. A minute later, Mavropanos stretched his range, trying to hit it from distance, however the center was back. Saw his shot deflected on the way through. Stuttgart had to make a change in the 58th minute with Silas suffering an injury Juan Perea to replace him. Stuttgart had its chances and looked dangerous at times. However, the playmaking ability of Christopher Baumgarner in the midfield gave them more opportunities to Hoffenheim. They look like the more dangerous team, and It showed. Bebou created a pair of chances for himself. In the 64th minute, he saw his attempted shot from enclose saved in the bottom corner, and then 7 minutes later, in the 71st minute, he followed through on a header near the 6-yard box. Coming very close, but Florian Muller makes the save yet again, as the Stuttgart keeper has been among the best this season. Stuttgart made a media response coming very close, in fact, as Fuhrich fired one at the side of the box, but Oliver bombing comes up to make the safe. 2 minutes later, Stuttgart was in there again. This time it was Anton putting his head through a cross but can't quite hook it in the right area. Momentum was all of a sudden picking up for Stuttgart in the 77th minute despite how well Hoffenheim looked. It was Stuttgart that broke through. Ahamada continues to look like a playmaker in his first Bundesliga season. He orchestrates the fast break and then finds Wataru Endo, the Japanese international had an absolute sniper from well outside the box into the top corner giving Hoffenheim. No chance to save it. Stuttgart took a 2-1 lead following an absolute bomb from their samurai sword.
However, a red card was given out to Ahamada for excessive celebration as he jumped in the crowd to embrace his family. Hoffenheim weren't dead yet. In the 82nd minute, they brought in Tom Bischof and Kasper Dolberg. A minute later in the 83rd minute, dabbur from enclose tries finding the bottom corner, but the Israeli international can't get the much-needed equalizer. In the 91st minute, Christopher Baumgarner supplies a headed ball to Dolberg. The Danish striker gets his head on it, but it is blocked in front of the goal. They came back again on a corner kick Pavel Kaderabek connects on a header from very close range but just a little too high in what could have been that moment. In the 93rd minute, with the game hanging in the balance Hoffenheim arrive on the big occasion with everything at stake and rescues something. Krameric makes a run into the box from close as he buries it into the bottom corner to get the equalizer. It was at nearly the last kick of the game Hoffenheim. The better team throughout the match comes steps up at the last possible moment and takes a point that could be valuable by the end of the season. Two teams trying to free themselves from the bottom of the table are at standstill with Hoffenheim and Stuttgart splitting the points that still keep them afloat above the relegation zone.
This was expected to be an intriguing matchup considering Hoffenheim and Stuttgart’s desire to create separation from the bottom of the table. Both of the teams are struggling at the moment and need to get a bit of momentum going. This was a perfect platform to do so. Hoffenheim played well in the cold against Union Berlin in the first half saw everything fall apart. Seeing Union Berlin score several late goals to bury them. Hoffenheim, in that second half, did not put their best foot forward. They were looking to correct that at home in their house against Stuttgart, a team that is also struggling in their own right. Hoffenheim will probably feel hard done by. Stuttgart deserves a lot of credit for converting and executing when it needed to. That's not an easy thing to do so the way they were able to handle the game keep them afloat while even taking the lead in the second half; they’re overall performance was very impressive. However, Hoffenheim was the better of the two teams. They showed playmaking ability in the midfield with Christopher Baumgarner. While creating big chances in front of the goal. In fairness, Florian Muller had to come up with some big saves to keep them out. They came out aggressive. They were on top of it. They were feeding off the energy and looked dangerous throughout. Perhaps they should have done better on a few of their chances, but overall they showed their capabilities. Unfortunately, they made little errors that did cost them from getting maximum points because, throughout the match, they were the better team by quite a distance. Again, as I said, the visitors deserve credit for how they performed and took advantage of their limited opportunities. However, Hoffenheim had a near-perfect approach and put themselves in the best position to collect the points. They’re going to look back on how they conceded a goal at the end of the first half. Feeling regret. Stuttgart cashed in at the end of the first half when Hoffenheim failed to clear the ball out of the area in the final couple of seconds of the first half. Unlike their performance last weekend, Hoffenheim kept their level in the first half and took it into the second half and arguably in the second half. They were even better. Unfortunately, they fell behind and had to grab a late goal in stoppage time to come out of their life. Andre krameric was absolutely superb with a two-goal performance keeping them on track and focused throughout. They'll take solace in their emotional yet dramatic late goal, allowing them to rescue the situation. Perhaps they will take that type of energy into the next couple of games and hopes they can start grabbing some victories. They are still without a victory since October and need to find a way out of the funk. It really seemed like tonight was that night, but in the end, little mistakes cost them. However, they showed the resiliency to bounce back and at least get something from the game. Hoffenheim has the quality throughout their squad to turn this around. Maybe it starts here with the late drama and will affect their games going forward. They need to start picking up these victories. For Stuttgart, they'll feel vindicated for the point they earned. But also, we'll feel disappointedfor being unable to hold on. They were outplayed on Tuesday but were always in the game because of their way of delivering when necessary. They were mere seconds away from collecting maximum points, which would have helped them substantially. However, That's two matches in a row without a loss. It will give them some sort of confidence momentum about them going forward, but as we know, both of these teams are going to be at it the second half of the season to escape that bottom drop and keep them themselves afloat away from the bottom three. Ultimately, in the end, the result itself doesn't help either of them.
