1. FC Heidenheim celebrates their victory in the Württemberg duel against VfB Stuttgart. VfB is missing out on a great opportunity to take the lead in the meantime.
1. FC Heidenheim beat VfB Stuttgart 2-0 (0-0) in an intense duel. Jan Schöppner shot FCH into the lead (70th minute). Tim Kleindienst made everything clear in stoppage time (90+4). After the success, the promoted team is in 13th place with ten points. VfB is still third after their second defeat in a row (21 points).
Both teams were in action in the DFB Cup during the week. During the VfB reached the round of 16 against Union Berlin thanks to a goal from Deniz Undavhe had to FCH lost 3-1 at Borussia Mönchengladbach.
“We played well, but also fought very well. You have to do that against VfB. It was Ostalb weather today, we really liked that,” said Heidenheim’s coach Frank Schmidt in an ARD interview. “If you take the whole 90 minutes, we were very focused.”
The first approach to the goal in Heidenheim’s Voith Arena came from the hosts on Sunday evening (November 5th, 2023). Adrian Beck narrowly missed a corner extended at the near post. In return, things became significantly more dangerous when VfB attacker Silas had already circled around FCH keeper Kevin Müller and was only disturbed at the last moment by Benedikt Gimber (7th). VfB now took control of the game, Heidenheim was dangerous at set pieces. Gimber’s header after Jan-Niklas Beste’s corner hit the crossbar of the Stuttgart goal (17th).
VfB pressure period follows Heidenheim pressure period
The next good chance also belonged to Heidenheim. Eren Dinkci was served on the half-right, VfB captain Waldemar Anton blocked at the last moment. The ball remained hot, but Anton also saved against Schöppner (29th). It was the start of a Heidenheim period of pressure. Three minutes later, FCH wasted a three-on-one situation (32′). On the subsequent corner, Tim Kleindienst came close to hitting the far post. Then the striker failed with his header to VfB keeper Alexander Nübel, who prevented the deficit with a reflex (33′).
When VfB had overcome the critical phase, Stuttgart were back on the offensive: But Angelo Stiller’s free kick from around 20 meters hit the crossbar (38th). A minute later, Undav chased the ball over the box from eleven meters. The Hoeneß team now literally besieged the FCH penalty area and it was ablaze several times. But the Heidenheimers also survived the phase unscathed. The next big chance came again to Gimber, whose header from a corner hit the crossbar (43′). On the other side, Chris Führich fired his free kick from a half-right position just past the corner (45′).
Silas gives away the VfB lead from the point
The second round went into the second round without any personnel changes. Heidenheim came out of the locker room with momentum, but Best’s shot missed the target by a good margin (48′). Six minutes later, referee Florian Badstübner gave VfB a penalty after Patrick Mainka pulled Anton to the ground during a corner. Silas stepped up and fired the penalty over the goal (54′).
The game calmed down afterwards. VfB let the ball run and looked for gaps in Heidenheim’s defense, which the home team didn’t offer. In the 70th minute, Schöppner gave FCH the lead with his first Bundesliga goal. The 24-year-old powerfully headed in a corner from Beste to make it 1-0.
VfB needed a few minutes to recover from the deficit. In the 79th minute, the Stuttgart team got close again, but Maximilian Mittelstädt missed from the half-left position. VfB now launched the final offensive, Heidenheim continued to defend passionately. In the 87th minute, Stuttgart’s Dan-Axel Zagadou was blocked after a corner kick at the last moment. In added time, VfB missed a great chance to equalize when substitute Luca Raimund hit the crossbar (90+3), Jamie Leweling’s attempt was cleared off the line by Gimber. Shortly afterwards, Kleindienst brought it to a close. The attacker stole the ball from Anton and beat VfB keeper Nübel with a remarkable lob. It was the end of an intense encounter.
Heidenheim at the record champions, VfB with a top game in hand
1. FC Heidenheim travels to FC Bayern Munich on the next matchday (November 11th, 2023, 3:30 p.m.). At the same time, VfB Stuttgart hosts Borussia Dortmund. The two clubs will meet twice within a few weeks. On December 5th or 6th, the Swabians invite you to the round of 16 in the DFB Cup. That was the result of the draw in the afternoon.