Nürnberg were dealt their first home loss under Rene Weiler on Friday evening, following a defensive master-class from Heidenheim. The visitors took their only real chance after Mathias Wittek headed home in the first-half, before brilliantly protecting their lead for the remainder of the game.
Rene Weiler was left frustrated following the inability of his team to kill off Karlsruher SC on Sunday. Despite a strong performance, chances were wasted at regular intervals and they had to settle for a 1-1 draw. Weiler did, however, keep faith in that side and remained unchanged.
Frank Schmidt's side were continuing to struggle in the search for their early season from and just how they could rekindle it. They fell to a 1-2 defeat to Fortuna Düsseldorf last weekend, despite taking the lead. In order to bolster the midfield for another tough test Andreas Voglsammer was sacrificed for a more defensive approach, as Julius Reinhardt came in.
Nürnberg dominated the opening stages of the game and after missing crucial chances last weekend, it was turning into a similar evening for Jakub Slyvestr again. The Czech forward managed to shoot wide after a fantastic cross from Javier Pinola.
The Franks continued to push forward, with the Argentine defender having a shot well blocked by Kevin Kraus. Robert Leipertz and Philipp Heise did have chances for the visitors, but failed to test Patrick Rakovsky.
Heidenheim then caught their hosts off guard to take the lead from a set-piece. Marc Schnatterer's pin-point delivery was yet again crucial and his free-kick left Mathias Wittek free at the back post to nod home. Rakovsky and the Nürnberg back-line would have been disappointed they didn't put more pressure on him, but it was a fine header nevertheless.
This seemed to calm Schmidt's side down and they began to play the ball around with more confidence. It was a half of few chances and with Heidenheim's recent record they kept things simple to go in with a half-time lead.
The second-half was similarly cagey and yielded few chances to begin with. Pinola continued to be the best outlet for Weiler's side, but his cross was narrowly missed by Guido Burgstaller.
Try as they might, Nürnberg were unable to find a way through and it looked like it would stay that way when substitute Danny Blum fired over the best chance of the game.
Heidenheim were defending similarly to their early season form, which earned them so many points and had them down as possible promotion contenders. The return of Jan Zimmerman, one of the league's top stoppers, had given the back four a new reassurance and were repelling all attacks.
They held on to secure an impressive away three points, especially in a game which they were largely on the back foot. For Nürnberg, it looks like the end of their push for promotion; wins for teams ahead of them could leave the Franks 10 points from the promotion places.