Two first half goals from Julian Draxler and Robin Knoche were enough for die Wölfe, VfL Wolfsburg to see off FC Ingolstadt 04 by two goals to nil at the Volkswagen Arena for Dieter Hecking's side first three points of 2016 at the fourth time of asking.
In a relatively poor first half, it had taken two die Schanzer errors for Wolfsburg to get a two goal lead. The first came from a loose Pascal Groß pass, which Daniel Caligiuri exploited before teeing up Julian Draxler. The second some poor defending from a Vieirinha corner that saw an unmarked Knoche stab home.
Despite some second half Schanzer pressure, they were unable to get back into the game and slipped to a second defeat of the Hinrunde. Koen Casteels had saved well from Marvin Matip, as well as Roger, during the second half. On a side note, referee Patrick Ittrich didn't issue a single booking throughout the entire process.
Delicious Draxler and quick-witted Knoche see Wolves into two goal lead
The out of form hosts were immediately on the front foot and had forced Ramazan Özcan into action within the opening five minutes; however the Schanzer stopper was able to tip away over the crossbar the Portuguese, Vieirinha's effort.
Yet for the most part the opening exchanges was a largely uneventful affair, with neither side seriously threatening either 'keeper. Retention of the ball was poor and the referee, Patrick Ittrich, was no help breaking up the play on every whim. Die Schanzer, FC Ingolstadt 04, were forced into an early change as Matthew Leckie was replaced by Maurice Multhaup. The Australian speedster, Leckie, would prove a sore miss for Ralph Hasenhüttl in what proved to be a rather abject first half display.
Die Wölfe nor their opponents looked likely to carve the opening goal for themselves and as such it came as no surprise that the deadlock was broken due to the other teams mistake - it would be Dieter Hecking's VfL Wolfsburg that would capitalise when the chance arose. Daniel Caligiuri preyed on an loose ball from the usually reliable midfield maestro Pascal Groß, before dropping a shoulder and finding a yard to whip in the perfect cross for Julian Draxler. The much maligned, yet highly talented, Draxler flicked the ball past Özcan after Benjamin Hübner had come an inch away from cutting out the delivery; a second goal in three games for the German international.
The visitors nearly instantly hit back but January arrival, Darío Lezcano's cut back for Multhaup wasn't forceful enough to beat the backtracking Wolfsburg defence and the chance was gone.
On the break, die Wölfe had been a constant threat. The trio of Vieirinha, Daniel Caligiuri and the aforementioned Draxler had caused the die Schanzer fullbacks, Robert Bauer and Danny Da Costa a number of problems and save for the last ditch efforts of Marvin Matip and Hübner the scoreline could've potentially have been worse for Hasenhüttl's eleven.
It was two soon after however and once again the Austrian in charge of FC Ingolstadt 04 will have been under the impression it was preventable. Die Schanzer had failed to deal with the second ball from a Vieirinha corner kick and the resultant knockdown fell at the feet of Max Kruse. The former Borussia Mönchengladbach man was unfortunate to see his snap shot saved by Özcan, but Robin Knoche was at hand to tap in the rebound.
The opening forty five minutes had brought some sloppy Schanzer defending, which is rather strange for Ralph Hasenhüttl's newly promoted side who have been characterised by their strength in defence. Indeed, before the game they held the third best defensive record in the Bundesliga. The Ingolstadt manager had named the same eleven to the one that defeated FC Augsburg 2-1 in the Bavarian derby last weekend, but today they were unable to replicate the winning performance.
Schanzer search for a way back into the game
As would be expected the guests came out in search of a goal that would bring them back into the contest. The first half had brought a poor performance from FC Ingolstadt 04, perhaps their worst bar the dismal display also in Lower Saxony in the defeat to bottom of the table Hannover 96. The Schanzer boss, Hasenhüttl was unafraid to use another of his substitutes as Almog Cohen entered the match, at the expense of Max Christiansen.
Marvin Matip had the first chance of the half, but was unable to connect well with a glancing header. The Cameroonian last weekend became the first FC Ingolstadt 04 player to score two goals from open play, and had previously scored a similar effort against 1. FC Köln and will have been disappointed with his failure to make more of this golden opportunity.
The die Schanzer captain nearly atoned for his earlier miss midway through the half. This time he connected well with a Pascal Groß corner and directed a thunderous header towards the goal, but the stand-in Koen Casteels was at hand to claw the ball away. The Belgian, Casteels, had previously looked nervy between the sticks but had shown his worth to keep die Wölfe's two goal lead.
Roger too had an effort for the visitors but Casteels was at hand once again to deny the Brazilian and die Schanzer a way back into the game.
VfL Wolfsburg were not an attacking entity in the second period and they were quite happy to sit on their two goal lead and collect a much needed three points. Despite their two goals it was far from a vintage performance from Dieter Hecking's side and their defensive frailties had been highlighted once more against an FC Ingolstadt 04 side that are far from brilliant in the offensive third. They will have to improve in this aspect as the free scoring Bayern Munich await at the end of this month, as well as the crucial first leg of their Champions League last sixteen clash against Ghent.
In some positive news for Dieter Hecking & co, Max Arnold was introduced late on after recovering from an knee injury that had kept him sidelined since early January.
Ultimately however despite their promise in the second half die Schanzer were unable to craft a way back into the game and die Wölfe were able to hold onto their two goal lead that saw a first win after the Winterpause.