Karlsruhe's Tim Civeja scores wonder goal from halfway line in Bochum
Tim Civeja's jaw-dropping strike in the 50th minute looked to have put Karlsruhe on the path to a much-needed victory, but a late Philipp Hofmann goal for Bochum left them still searching for their first away win of the season.
As the 50th minute approached of Karlsruhe's Matchday 11 clash with Bochum at the Ruhrstadion on Sunday, the visitors were sensing the possibility of a smash-and-grab win on the road, having overcome the setback of conceding an early Christian Rasmussen goal by levelling through Kevin Wiethaup in the eighth minute.
It was at that point that Wiethaup picked the ball up inside his own half and laid it off to Civeja. The midfielder, making just his third start of the campaign and known more for his robust tackles than his scoring ability, strode forward to the halfway line, looked up and - having spotted goalkeeper Timo Horn off his line - proceeded to spectacularly lob the ball into the top right-hand corner of the net from all of 51 metres, sending the fans in the sold-out away section absolutely wild.
It was the former Augsburg player's second goal of the season and his second in successive weeks, his 19th-minute opener on Matchday 10 having helped KSC to a 2-1 home victory over Heidenheim.
And while Sunday's lob was a goal worthy of winning any match, unfortunately it did not pan out that way for Maximilian Senft's side, who would go on to concede two goals to Bochum forward Hofmann, formerly of Karlsruhe - the first two minutes after Civeja's strike and the second deep in injury time - and register their third away defeat of the season, a result that leaves them in a precarious 16th position in the Bundesliga 2 table.
"My goal was lovely, for sure – it all happened very quickly," said the energetic 24-year-old in the mixed zone after the encounter. "After Kevin’s pass, I had time and space to see what was happening around me. I then saw that Timo Horn was standing well off his line and I thought to myself, I might as well give it a go. To be honest, I was a bit taken aback when the ball ended up in the net. At the end of the day, though, the goal doesn’t do us any good, unfortunately.”
Senft shared his player's bittersweet feelings, stating: "We showed some good attacking play and scored some spectacular goals, but we just can’t afford to let in three goals like that."
Next up for Karlsruhe is a tough-looking test at home to fellow strugglers Osnabrück on Matchday 12. However, if Civeja can maintain this goalscoring mini-streak, he and his team-mates will be confident of picking up three points and distancing themselves from the relegation zone.
