Heidenheim loses against Istanbul Başakşehir FK

Conference League

Second bankruptcy in a row – Heidenheim loses in Istanbul

1. FC Heidenheim is traveling to Europe for the first time. In the fifth game there was the second defeat.

Small setback for 1. FC Heidenheim in the Conference League. There was a bitter 3-1 defeat at Istanbul Başakşehir FK in Türkiye. In the previous game, Heidenheim had lost against Chelsea (0-2).

Thanks to a double strike from Deniz Türüc (6th) and Miguel Crespo (18th), Heidenheim quickly fell behind in the first half. After the Bundesliga team came close again with a goal from Mathias Honsak (61st), ex-Bundesliga professional Krzysztof Piątek (Hertha BSC) put the final point with his goal after 68 minutes.

For Heidenheim it was the sixth competitive defeat in a row across all competitions. After all, coach Frank Schmidt’s team still has a good chance of reaching the round of 16 of the Conference League with nine points from five games.

FCH traveled to Istanbul without captain Patrick Mainka and goalkeeper Kevin Müller. Vitus Eicher started between the posts for Müller. “Patrick Mainka and Kevin Müller stayed at home. We discussed that together – simply because they have been playing a lot recently,” explained Coach Schmidt on the streaming service RTL+.

After just a few minutes, Eicher had to reach behind him for the first time. After Heidenheim’s top talent Paul Wanner lost the ball, Başakşehir played an attack perfectly to make it 1-0 through Türüç. From then on, the Ostalb team seemed extremely unsettled. Inaccuracies crept into the game again and again, and there was a lack of ideas and creativity on offense.

The hosts, on the other hand, stayed in control. First Eicher was able to save against Olivier Kemen in desperate need, then the goalkeeper fended off a header from Piątek. However, the 34-year-old had no chance when Crespo made a follow-up shot.

Schmidt had obviously seen enough of his sleepy team. He replaced Wanner and Maximilian Breunig in the 30th minute and brought on Honsak and Jan Schöppner, who also had Heidenheim’s best chance in the first half shortly before the break. He hit the crossbar with a header attempt (40′).

“We have to improve. We can’t continue like this,” Heidenheim’s club boss Holger Sanwald appealed to the team during the break. And the FCH initially seemed more stable. Honsak poked the ball over the line after a corner to score.

Just when the Heidenheimers were getting better into the game, Başakşehir hit back mercilessly through Piątek. The encounter then fizzled out, resulting in a well-deserved FCH defeat.