Bundesliga relegation
Second division club Elversberg missed surprise
Updated on May 22, 2025 – 10:42 p.m.Reading time: 2 min.
Outsider Elversberg missed a surprise in the first Bundesliga relegation game. The Saarlanders started strongly in Heidenheim, but then lost the thread.
The first leg of the Bundesliga relegation has ended with a draw. The 1. FC Heidenheim caught up with a 0-2 round against second division SV Elversberg and came to a 2: 2 (0: 2).
The game was sometimes ironically referred to as “El Dorfico” in advance, but offered the best entertainment. Lukas Petkov (18th minute) and Fisnik Asllani (42nd) met in front of 15,000 spectators on the Ostalb for the guests. Tim Siersleben (62nd) and Mathias Honsak (64th) still compensated with a double strike.
“I am glad that we came back. Fortunately, we got on track,” said Heidenheim’s club chief Holger Sanwald at Sky. “That gives us all options. Everything is open now.” The opponent looks at the second leg similarly optimistically. “We are happy with the draw,” said SVE sports director Nils-Ole Book: “We saw that we can hurt Heidenheim properly.”
The decision as to who will play first-class will be made on Monday (from 8.30 p.m. in the LiveTicker from T-Online).
The game started directly with an excitement: after a Elversberger corner, Heidenheim’s Niklas dorsch was up and away. The 27-year-old tried to curve SVE keeper Nicolas Kristof. He got into the stumbling and fell – but there was no penalty from referee Sven Jablonski.
As a result, the Heidenheimers initially left far too much. Marvin Pieringer, for example, was just offside (7th) when playing a nice chopping from Dorsch, Adrian Beck pushed the ball over the goal to the right (17th).
And Elversberg? Came a little less often into the opposing penalty area in the first round – if so, but then really dangerous. In phases, the offensive around Hoffenheim loan asllani raised an extremely attractive combination game.
It was also asllani who prepared the guest tour. Petkov chased the ball into the right lower corner, Heidenheim’s goalkeeper Kevin Müller was powerless. Just like with the beautifully played 0: 2 minutes before the break. Petkov and Asllani were again involved – this time Elversberg’s goalkeeper met himself.
The fact that the supposed connection through Omar Traoré (45.+4) did not count due to offside fit in the first half.
Heidenheim’s coaching veteran Frank Schmidt reacted and reinforced his offensive after the change of sides with Budu ZivziVadze, Leo Scienza and the ex-elderly Paul Wanner. The duo was hardly on the pitch when Muhammed Damar on the other hand gave the great chance to 0: 3 (48th).
But then the Heidenheimers struck back. Honsak met the latte (58th), then Siersleben dusted for a mistake from SVE goalkeeper Kristof to 1: 2. Just three minutes later, a dusty dust – and Honsak equalized. Substitute Scienza was involved in the creation of both goals.