A three-goal first-leg deficit had never previously been overcome in a Bundesliga relegation play-off tie, but Bochum set about assailing that with an opener inside 20 minutes.
Kevin Stoger’s whipped free-kick was misjudged by Dusseldorf stopper Florian Kastenmeier, allowing Philipp Hofmann – scorer of a similarly timed own goal on Wednesday – to head into the net.
Admirably, there was no intent to sit back from the home side, and Jordy de Wijs almost restored the three-goal advantage, glancing Christos Tzolis’ set-piece delivery just wide of Andreas Luthe’s right post.
Daniel Thioune’s attacking philosophy did mean, however, that Die Flingeraner were open to a fast counter, and Maximilian Wittek calibrated his sights with a low drive which was gathered up by Kastenmeier.
Keven Schlotterbeck then nodded wide in an almost carbon copy of the situation for the opener before Lukas Daschner’s deflected effort looped over the goalkeeper and agonisingly into the side netting. The break arrived with Bochum still needing two, but the statistic that the Bundesliga side has only lost one of the last 11 play-offs was surely on Heiko Butscher’s lips to motivate his side at the break.
The hosts’ nerves were clear to see after the restart, and Bochum took full advantage with a remarkable double with less than 25 minutes remaining. The same combination was once again responsible for the goals, with Stöger’s outswinger thumped in off Hofmann’s head before Deniz Aytekin pointed to the spot after the ball was handled in the area.
Talisman Stoger stepped up to dispatch, levelling the aggregate score and sending the away end into pandemonium. They almost completed the comeback through Takuma Asano with minutes of normal time remaining, but extra time beckoned.
It took until the final moments of the half-hour extension for significant action, with Jona Niemiec denied on the line twice for Fortuna, but it was ultimately left to penalties to decide who would compete in the Bundesliga next campaign.
Both goalkeepers saved one of the first three kicks faced, and it was level at five each well into sudden death, but Takashi Uchino’s miss handed Bochum the victory.
An unprecedented achievement in this fixture, Bochum end their opponents’ 14-match unbeaten league run to extend their stay in the Bundesliga due to the finest of margins.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Kevin Stoger (Bochum)
