Japan forward Takuma Asano scored his fifth league goal of the season on Saturday as Bochum eased past fellow strugglers Union Berlin 3-0 at home in the German Bundesliga.
Asano gave Bochum the lead in first-half stoppage time at Vonovia Ruhrstadion, blasting home a close-range volley after defender Bernardo's header off a corner was blocked.
Goncalo Paciencia doubled the lead in the 54th minute and Kevin Stoger got Bochum's third in the 78th minute before Asano came off in the closing stages of the match.
Bochum moved up to 13th in the table after their third win this term from 15 league matches.
