Aalen were denied all three points by Mathew Leckie's late strike, in a game they'll be disappointed not to have taken a win from. The hosts had the better chances but failed to make them pay, though at one stage it had looked like Jurgen Gjasula's penalty was enough for all three points.

After putting on an impressive performance, despite the defeat, away at Kaiserslautern last weekend, Stefan Ruthenbeck would have been pleased with the effort shown. Having already faced Darmstadt since the resumption of the 2. Bundelsiga, Aalen had been dealt a tough hand to begin their fight to remain in the division.

As they took on the league leaders, Oliver Barth made way for Collin Quaner, allowing Phil Ofosu-Ayeh to return to right-back; while Michael Klauß was replaced by Dennis Chessa in the starting line-up.

For only the second time this season, Ingolstadt suffered defeat in the 2. Bundesliga. It was a lacklustre performance from Ralph Hasenhüttl's men, who were comfortably beaten 3-1 by SV Sandhausen. So in response to that, the Austrian made two changes. Robert Bauer and Lukas Hinterseer came in for Tobias Levels Moritz Hartmann, as they aimed to bounce-back at the first time of asking.

Ramazan Özcan was called into action early on as he raced out, Manuel Neuer-esque, to clear the ball from Orhan Ademi's head. Bauer was perhaps lucky not to have seen red in the opening exchanges, as he escaped with just a booking from two badly-timed tackles.

Hasenhüttl couldn't risk leaving Bauer on to pick up another yellow card, which was becoming ever more likely, and Tobias Levels, who was benched for the youngster, was on to replace him after just seventeen minutes.

There was little-to-no threat coming from the leaders' front line, with Aalen hurrying and harrying them all the pitch. Leandro looked to have found space in the box, but his attempt was well shut down by several Ingolstadt defenders.

Even Pascal Groß, well known for his dead-ball skills, couldn't test Daniel Bernhardt in the home goal. Stefan Lex then fashioned an opportunity from a lofted through ball, only for his shot to ripple the side-netting.

The second-half began with a moment of controversy, as Aalen were awarded a penalty. Özcan came out to halt Ademi and got a touch to the ball, but referee Thorsten Schriever still felt it was a foul and pointed to the spot.

Despite the protests, his mind remained unchanged and Jurgen Gjasula stepped up and confidently dispatched the penalty. The Austrian stopper almost saved it, though it was firmly struck and, on the balance of play, Aalen were deservedly ahead.

It was at the other end where Bernhardt produced a spectacular save; Bruno Hübner flicked on Groß' free-kick, only for the 'keeper to flick out a hand and claw it out to safety.

The home side were looking likely to hold onto their lead, until the quiet Mathew Leckie burst onto the scene and levelled the game. The Aussie international collected a fantastic long ball from Pascal Groß, before staying cool to smash the ball past the onrushing Bernhardt.

Though the Aalen goalkeeper denied Leckie a few minutes later, somehow parrying his powerful header to safety. Fabio Kaufmann almost turned out to be the super-sub, though he just failed to connect with Quaner's driven cross.

Neither could force a winning goal in what was a truly pulsating second-half. Aalen can count themselves desperately unlucky not to have taken more than a point, as a win would have moved them out of the relegation zone completely ahead of the game against SV Sandhausen next weekend. Ingolstadt remain top, though a win for Kaiserslautern on Sunday could see their lead cut to six; they take on 1860 Munich on Monday week.