Late goal denies TSG all three points in Wolfsburg

New manager Markus Gisdol made just two changes from the side that earned him his debut win last week, and both of those were enforced. Heurelho Gomes and David Abraham, who picked up injuries in the 3-0 victory over Fortuna Düsseldorf, were the ones replaced by Koen Casteels and Matthieu Delpierre. Gisdol's faith in his side was almost repaid early on in the game but Sven Schipplock was unfortunate to see his effort ruled out. The ball broke to him in the box and he swiftly rounded VfL keeper Diego Benaglio and slotted home but the referee had already blown his whistle, feeling that Roberto Firmino had impeded Ricardo Rodriguez in the build-up.

It was a decision that soon left Hoffenheim seething too as Dieter Hecking's side opened the scoring in the 13th minute. Rodriguez hit a wayward shot from distance but 18-year-old Maximilian Arnold intercepted it, before setting himself up for a volley and burying it in the bottom corner of TSG's goal. Knowing that they have already collected seven of their 23 points so far this season from losing positions, Gisdol's side picked themselves up quickly and looked to get back on level terms. Tobias Weis was played through by Kevin Volland's clever pass but saw his effort well saved by the legs of Benaglio. In the 35th minute, Hoffenheim got the luck they were missing in the opening stages when this time referee Daniel Siebert voted in their favour, awarding a penalty after Rodriguez brought down Schipplock in the box. Salihovic stepped up and just about found a way beyond the Wolfsburg keeper to make it 1-1 going into the break.

Late equaliser

With Benaglio the keeper being kept busy towards the end of the first half, it was Casteel's turn to produce at the start of the second. Half-time substitute for the home team Alexander Madlung looked to be finding the bottom corner with his header from a free kick, but the Belgium U21 international reacted well to push the ball wide of the post. The same situation offered another Wolfsburg chance minutes later but this time Madlung's header landed on top of the goal. Markus Gisdol made a change to try and swing the game back his side's way – Andreas Ludwig replaced Schipplock – but instead it was a moment of brilliance from Andi Beck that put Hoffenheim in the driving seat. The TSG captain picked up the ball 30 yards away from goal, took a touch to his left and unleashed a thunderous strike to beat Benaglio and give his side the lead in Wolfsburg.

With 25 nerve-wracking minutes to go before full time, the Hoffenheim manager made his final two changes bringing on the more defensive-minded Sebastian Rudy and Patrick Ochs for Salihovic and Firmino. As the final whistle edged nearer and nearer with TSG's one-goal advantage still in tact, belief was growing that Hoffenheim would secure their first back-to-back league wins since September. That belief was lost in the 86th minute though, when Naldo towered above everyone to head in the equaliser from a Rodriguez corner. It is not a point to be sniffed at however for Markus Gisdol with it moving his team up into the relegation play-off spot, even if only temporarily. Augsburg face Eintracht Frankfurt in Sunday's action, but the new manager will be more interested in continuing his unbeaten start at the helm next week against Bayer 04 Leverkusen.

Matt Hardy

VfL Wolfsburg: Benaglio – Hasebe, Naldo, Kjaer (46' Madlung), Rodriguez – Polak, Medojevic – Vieirinha (75' Helmes), Diego, Arnold (67' Dost) – Olic

TSG 1899 Hoffenheim: Casteels – Beck, Delpierre, Vestergaard, Johnson – Weis, Polanski, Salihovic (69' Rudy) – Firmino (80' Ochs), Schipplock (58' Ludwig), Volland

Goals: 1-0 Arnold (13'), 1-1 Salihovic pen. (35'), 1-2 Beck (63'), 2-2 Naldo (86')
Yellow cards: Arnold, Medojevic - Firmino
Attendance: 24,221
Referee: Daniel Siebert

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