Ritsu Doan and Vincenzo Grifo led SC Freiburg to their first victory in the Bundesliga against 1. FC Heidenheim. The Breisgau team won 3-0 (0-0) thanks to three goals within eleven minutes after the break and remain in the top group after the away win. In the history of the Freiburg club, FCH was the last of 41 first division opponents against whom they had not yet won.
SC coach Julian Schuster’s team had the better of the game throughout the game. However, the visitors needed some luck to score the first goal from Doan in the 54th minute. Grifo sealed the deal with a double strike a little later (59th/65th).
Similar to the first defeat of the season, 2:4 at Borussia Dortmund, FCH started without the necessary access. Freiburg presented themselves completely differently. From the beginning, the Breisgau team often had the ball and set the pace. A first header from former world champion Matthias Ginter, who was allowed to play from the start for the first time since March 17th after recovering from an injury, sailed over the hosts’ goal (2nd).
Lots of position changes, little pressure
“In the end, you can see that they are consistently following the path set by Christian Streich – possession football, variable positional play,” said Heidenheim coach Frank Schmidt in the run-up to the match, and his analysis was correct. Junior Adamu, Eren Dinkci, who played for the hosts on loan from Werder last season, and Grifo repeatedly swapped positions. However, they did not put Heidenheim under any serious pressure with their variability.
Heidenheim’s debutant Mathias Honsak posed more of a threat on the other side. His shot narrowly missed the target. It was the start of a slightly better phase for FCH, who now had more confidence. But overall, inaccurate passes increased on both sides whenever the game was played quickly.
Painful collision
The SC only appeared on the offensive during set pieces. Marvin Pieringer and Lukas Kübler collided painfully after a corner kick. However, both players continued after a short break for treatment.
In the games so far this season, Freiburg have always fallen behind. And in Heidenheim, too, it almost happened just before half-time. Paul Wanner extended the lead with a header after a corner. However, attacker Maximilian Breunig was unable to get close to the ball in the duel with his former club – the best chance of the game so far.
Freiburg came out of the dressing room better. The second period began with a great chance for Dinkci. From a promising position, the 22-year-old shot only hit the side netting. A little later, Kübler smashed the ball over the Heidenheim goal (51′).
Doan was more precise. The Japanese international’s shot hit the inside post. Shortly afterwards, Grifo extended the lead and with another goal he sealed the Conference League participant’s second defeat in a row.
Schmidt now made a lot of substitutions. His team failed to fight back, while the SC managed to maintain its lead and rarely went on the offensive.
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