Conference League against St. Gallen: Again no win for 1. FC Heidenheim

On the last matchday of the group phase in the Conference League, 1. FC Heidenheim was unable to win against St. Gallen despite being in the lead. They still made the playoffs.

FCH is in the relegation zone in the Bundesliga with just ten points and had also lost the last two Conference League games. It was already clear before the game that they would reach the knockout phase, but the Heidenheimers still wanted to get their Bundesliga frustration off their chest. That didn’t work.

Norman Theuerkauf gave FCH the lead (30th minute). Jozo Stanic then equalized for the guests (77′). The game ended 1:1. Patrick Mainka was very disappointed afterwards: “This is very, very annoying, makes you angry and angry. We didn’t manage to end this winless streak.”

Initial phase: Lots of ball possession for FCH

As expected, Frank Schmidt changed his starting eleven again: Norman Theuerkauf, Luca Kerber, Sirlord Conteh and Mikkel Kaufmann start instead of Jonas Föhrenbach, Niklas Dorsch, Mathias Honsak and Marvin Pieringer. In the opening phase, Heidenheim had more possession of the ball and after a good quarter of an hour they had their first chances of the game in the 19th minute. After a corner from Léo Scienza, the visiting keeper Lawrence Ati-Zigi couldn’t get the ball out properly. Instead, the ball landed at Luca Kerber, whose shot was blocked. In the hustle and bustle of the penalty area, Scienza shot again and Ati-Zigi let the ball bounce – again at the feet of a Heidenheimer. But Benedikt Gimber’s shot went wide to the left of the goal.

Deserved opening goal by Norman Theuerkauf

A few minutes later, the guests, who are trained by former Augsburg coach Enrico Maaßen, also appeared in front of the Heidenheim goal. Christian Witzig crossed into the penalty area, but Kevin Csoboth’s header flew over the goal. Instead, Heidenheim deservedly took the lead in the 30th minute. Introduced by Paul Wanner, Sirlord Conteh’s first cross failed. The second cross attempt reached Norman Theuerkauf exactly. The defender brought the ball into the goal with a free-standing volley. It was his first European Cup goal. FCH was the better team in the first half and kept coming down the flanks. The hosts’ half-time lead was therefore fully deserved.

St. Gallen conceded a goal with a header

In the second half, the Heidenheimers initially remained a little more dominant in the game: a cross from Omar Traoré was just started in front of Paul Wanner (48th). After the guests almost equalized in the 70th minute through Stephan Ambrosius, two minutes later the post saved them from their perspective. Heidenheim’s Paul Wanner came with a solo shot down the right side and hit the outside post from a tight angle (72′). In the 77th minute it was Jozo Stanić who headed the ball in from a corner to equalize. In the final minutes both teams still had chances to score the winning goal, but the score remained 1-1. FC St. Gallen is eliminated and FCH is in the playoffs.

Important game in the Bundesliga against Bochum

FCH, which is struggling in the Bundesliga, will play against bottom team VfL Bochum next Sunday (3:30 p.m. in the audio live stream on sportschau.de). “No points will be sent in the Christmas mail. We have to score points,” warned FCH coach Schmidt during the week. With ten points, the Heidenheimers remain in the relegation zone. Only Holstein Kiel (5 points) and their upcoming opponents Bochum (3 points) are still behind.

Internationally, the playoff first leg continues on February 13th. The opponent is then either KAA Gent from Belgium or FC Copenhagen, which will be drawn on Friday (December 20th) at 1 p.m.

Broadcast on Friday, December 20, 2024, 6:00 a.m., SWR Aktuell in the morning, SWR Aktuell