Two goals from Florian Niederlechner and a Robert Leipertz strike helped earn a fantastic three points for Frank Schmidt and Heidenheim, in a game where St. Pauli couldn't take any of their multiple chances.
After a 2-2 draw last weekend with Nürnberg, Thomas Meggle made two changes. Jan-Philipp Kalla and Philipp Ziereis were replaced by Lasse Sobiech und Lennart Thy, as they aimed to build on the point against the Bavarians. As for Heidenheim, they continued their good run of form with a 1-1 draw against high-flying Darmstadt. Alper Bagceci and Smail Morabit didn't start, so Robert Leipertz und Manuel Janzer came in for the aforementioned pair, in Hamburg.
The game was even to start off with, but the major incident of the opening exchanges was when Jan Zimmerman was caught by Ante Budmir. The concern was obvious, as players immediately signalled to the bench for attention. The goalkeeper had to be brave to prevent him having a tap in, but such was the blow that substitute stopper Rouven Sattelmaier came on to replace him.
The visitors were keen to press on after the injury and start to establish themselves in the game. Their first real attack of the game brought their first goal, as Florian Niederlechner notched his sixth of the season. After a probing run from Manuel Janzer, he saw his initial shot blocked. Janzer set the ball for Marcel Titsch-Rivero, who then played in Niederlechner. The forward's first attempt was well saved by Philipp Tschauner, but the second was volleyed emphatically and acrobatically past him.
The goal had shaken St. Pauli's confidence and they conceded a second, just five minutes later. Captain Marc Schnatterer drove from midfield, breaking past the limp tackles and shifted the ball wide to Niederlechner. Full of confidence, he cut inside and drilled a shot into the bottom right corner; a quite fantastic strike that left all six-foot-five inches of Tschauner grasping at thin air.
This time, the hosts issued a response. Sebastian Schachten, an unlikely source, struck a thirty-yard curler towards goal. It looked for all the world it would find the top corner, but it clipped the top of the bar and went agonisingly over. Moments later, stand-in stopper Sattelmaier made two great saves; first from a Sobiech header and then denied Marc Rzatkowski from a one-on-one situation. Niederlechner very nearly managed a first-half hat-trick, only for his flicked header to hit the woodwork, as Heidenheim maintained their two-goal cushion.
While it wasn't Niederlechner troubling the St. Pauli defence, minutes after half-time, the result was exactly the same. Leipertz was the man to benefit from a quick breakaway, after Heidenheim sped up the pitch. The former-Schalke youth player was there to finish things off and net his second goal for his new club. The home side were in no mood to five up and were enjoying the better chances as the half progressed.
Regular ventures into the Heidenheim area were little more than that, with their back-line repelling anything that Budmir and co. had to offer. Substitute John Verhoek was close to getting the home team on the scoreboard, only for Sattelmaier to make two vital saves. The rest of the game was expertly controlled by last year's 3.Liga champions; who almost made it four, thanks to Schnatterer's curling effort.
The defeat leaves St. Pauli sitting in seventeenth, just two points ahead of lowly VfR Aalen. The international break will give them time to regroup, but a tough trip to Leipzig won't give much hope to already despondent fans. Heidenheim will be hopeful of another three points when they host Sandhausen in two weeks, but a fifth place berth is something Schmidt and his men will be more than happy with.