As of: October 3rd, 2024 8:41 p.m
The football fairy tale continues: 1. FC Heidenheim defeated Olimpija Ljubljana at the start of the Conference League. But coach Frank Schmidt also finds points of criticism.
The Heidenheimers defeated the Slovenians 2:1 (1:0). Adrian Beck took the lead for the Bundesliga club early on (6th minute). In the second half, Alex Blanco equalized (77th), Paul Wanner scored the winning goal in the 83rd minute.
“A historic victory. When you have your first real game in the Conference League, it’s of course something special. After 30 minutes, I wouldn’t have thought that it would be such a hard job. We had the game completely under control, a lot of them Chances to make it 2-0 and 3-0,” said coach Frank Schmidt in the SWR interview, who missed the final consistency with his team. “Then it got really tight at the back. We could have avoided that completely.”
Beck Heidenheim’s first goalscorer in the European Cup
Beck, Heidenheim’s first goalscorer in the European Cup, “only realized afterwards what had happened today,” said the 27-year-old. “In general, today was something very special for the club and for me personally,” said Beck. “To score another goal in the premiere and get the win was a perfect evening all around.”
The Heidenheimers went into the match on Thursday evening (October 3rd, 2024) with a total of seven changes in the starting eleven compared to the last Bundesliga game (2-0 at 1. FSV Mainz 05). In the early stages, FCH tried to control the game against the leaders of the Slovenian league. With the first offensive action, Heidenheim took the lead in front of 13,000 spectators in the Voith Arena. Adrian Beck played a one-two with Sirlord Conteh, outplayed his opponent and finished dryly from twelve meters to make it 1-0.
Leo Scienza only hits the post for Heidenheim
Shortly afterwards, Ljubljana became dangerous for the first time, but FCH captain Patrick Mainka headed the cross at the far post. On the other hand, attacker Maximilian Breunig broke through in the penalty area and his shot from close range was blocked for a corner (14th). A minute later, Niklas Dorsch ran freely towards the penalty area after winning the ball deep, but couldn’t quite decide between finishing and passing it to Breunig.
In the 20th minute, referee Enea Jorgji awarded a free kick for Ljubljana after a handball from Dorsch 20 meters in front of the Heidenheim goal. Raul Florucz tried to outwit keeper Kevin Müller, but the goalkeeper safely parried the free kick that went under the wall. Six minutes later, Heidenheim’s Norman Theuerkauf tested Olimpija’s goalkeeper Matevz Vidovsek with a powerful free kick from the right corner of the penalty area.
Much closer to making it 2-0 in the 34th minute was Leo Scienza, whose left-footed shot Vidovsek was just able to direct onto the post. And the goalkeeper was there a minute later when he parried Omar Traoré’s long-range shot for a corner. Ljubljana remained harmless until then and almost equalized thanks to a Heidenheim error. But Kevin Müller saved after losing the ball in the build-up game against Dino Kojic (41st). Olimpija became stronger towards the end of the first period. Shortly afterwards, Florucz was through on the right side, but FCH was able to clear his cross in the middle. Heidenheim went into the locker room with a deserved 1-0 lead.
Scienza’s shot grazes the goal
The guests came out of the half-time break more active. In the 48th minute, Tim Siersleben made a last-second save against Florucz, who had broken through. FCH’s first good opportunity in the second section came from Scienza. The Brazilian’s 20-meter shot passed just a few centimeters over the right corner of the goal (51′).
After around an hour, FCH coach Frank Schmidt made three changes. Paul Wanner, Marvin Pieringer and Jan Schöppner came for Dorsch, Breunig and goalscorer Beck. Shortly afterwards, the hosts were lucky that a short corner didn’t lead to an equaliser. Keeper Müller’s interaction with the post saved the score 1-0 (63′).
On the other hand, Wanner showed himself for the first time, but his shot after a one-two was too central and Vidovsek grabbed it safely. Instead, the Slovenians equalized. After a long shot from his own half, Marko Brest was able to cross from the left side, Alex Blanco headed in from the center completely free – the 1-1 was too easy (77th).
Wanner with the winning goal for FCH
Three minutes later, FCH had a great opportunity to take the lead again. Peter Agba played the ball with his hand in the penalty area. After long discussions, Wanner took the penalty – and initially failed because of Vidovsek. However, the German-Austrian hit the follow-up shot into the net (83′). “The follow-up shot was harder than the penalty,” said coach Schmidt, commenting on the artistic left-footed shot. Just two minutes later, the VAR sent the referee to the sideline to check another penalty for Heidenheim. This time, however, the offense was not enough for the referee to award a penalty. In the final phase, FCH seemed to secure the victory. In the sixth minute of stoppage time, the Heidenheim team had to save several times in their own penalty area.
FCH with a difficult task in the Bundesliga
The Heidenheimers continue on Sunday (October 6th, 2024) in the Bundesliga against Champions League participants RB Leipzig (3:30 p.m. in the live ticker and audio stream on sportschau.de). In the Conference League, FCH will play against Pafos FC from Cyprus on October 24th.
Broadcast on Thursday, October 3rd, 2024, 6:40 p.m., SWR1 Baden-Württemberg
