Bielefeld and Hoffenheim in goalless draw

Arminia Bielefeld 0-0 Hoffenheim

The first half between Bielefeld and Hoffenheim could have belonged to either side, with chances at both ends. In the opening stages, the hosts were dominant, overwhelming the Hoffenheim defence. Inside two minutes, Patrick Wimmer could have sent the home fans into the stratosphere when Robin Hack squared the ball in front of the goal, only to see it roll through the forward’s legs. Not 10 minutes later, the duo combined again, with Wimmer feeding Hack, who saw his powerful drive cannon back off the upright. Hoffenheim’s best chance came through Ihlas Bebou late in the half, with the Togo forward doing well to wriggle free of his markers, but he took just slightly too long to get his shot off, allowing the Bielefeld defence to get a block in and keep the scores level. The second half held the promise for goals. It was just a question of who would break the deadlock?

As the second half got underway, neither set of defenders appeared willing to risk being the first to break. Needing to find a way through, Sebastian Hoeneß was the first to make changes. His double change nearly got the desired response from his troops, with Kramaric producing an excellent header that Stefan Ortega did extremely well to get to and hold. Bielefeld’s best chance soon followed with Okugawa denied only by a deflection. The Japanese forward was left still looking for his first goal on home soil of the campaign. The chances flowed all afternoon, but neither side could find the final touch to grab the lead and take all three points.

• Okugawa has registered two goals and as many assists in 18 Bundesliga appearances, but is yet to fire on Bielefeld soil.
• Kramer oversaw two Bundesliga defeats in caretaker charge of Hoffenheim in 2012/13.
• Bielefeld are unbeaten in their last six Bundesliga home matches (W2, D4), a 1-1 draw with Hoffenheim among that run.
• Bielefeld’s Bryan Lasme reached a top-speed of 36.6km/h.
• Kramaric made his 190th appearance in all competitions for Hoffenheim. He has scored a club-record 97 goals.
• Hoffenheim have failed to win any of their last seven Bundesliga matches that didn't involve a Kramaric goal or assist.

Bielefeld: Ortega - Brunner, Pieper, Nilsson, Laursen (Czyborra 74' (Andrade 82')) - Prietl (c) - Wimmer (Lasme 59'), Schöpf, Hack, Okugawa - Klos (Serra 74')
Unused subs: Kapino, Ramos, de Medina, Kunze, Krüger,
Out: Fernandes (ill), Vasiliadis (ankle)
Coach: Frank Kramer

Hoffenheim: Baumann (c) - Kaderabek, Vogt, Richards, Raum - Grillitsch, Samassekou - Baumgartner (Rutter 71'), Kramaric, Bruun Larsen (Skov 56') - Bebou (Adamyan 57')
Unused subs: Pentke, Geiger, Stiller, Gacinovic, Akpoguma, Posch
Out: Bicakcic (knee), Hübner (back), Nordtveit (thigh), Rudy (back)
Coach: Sebastian Hoeneß