Following from his sides 4-0 defeat away to FC Kaiserslautern last time out, 1. FC Heidenheim manager, Frank Schmidt made several changes to his sides starting line-up as well as a tactical change to the formation; as the former Alemmania Aachen and Greuther Fürth player looked to solve the defensive problems his side had suffered in recent weeks. The Voith Arena side changed from the more open 4-4-2 system, into the compact 4-2-3-1 formation, with top scorer Florian Niederlechner deployed as a lone striker. There were two changes to the side defeated at the Fritz-Walter Stadion, Julius Reinhardt and Smail Morabit replaced by Sebastian Griesbeck and Alper Bagceci. In their last home fixture, a one goal to nil victory over RB Leipzig, 1. FC Heidenheim finally got the home monkey off their back with their first victory at the Voith Arena since late November.

After a spell of tricky results, Ralph Hasenhüttl and FC Ingolstadt 04 returned to winning ways with a comprehensive 2-0 win over FSV Frankfurt. The game also saw Lukas Hinterseer get his first goal for die Schanzer since December. Hasenhüttl made only two alterations to his side, with the injured Konstantin Engel dropping out for Tobias Levels. die Schanzer also welcomed back Matthew Leckie, who had missed the victory over die Bornheimer with fatigue after International duty. The visitors knew that a victory on the night would crank up the pressure on fellow promotion chasing sides, FC Kaiserslautern and SV Darmstadt 98 ahead of their tricky away games at 1. FC Nürnberg and Fortuna Düsseldorf respectively. die Schanzer also had good memories of the previous meeting between the two sides this season; a 1-0 victory courtesy of a first half Lukas Hinterseer strike.

Both sides had chances early on, in particularly both centre forwards; But Florian Niederlechner was adjudged offside before he could latch onto a cross and Jan Zimmermann did well to save from Lukas Hinterseer, fresh from his goal last weekend.

The hosts were having joy switching the ball from right to left, and this would be the source of their next chance. Alper Bagceci playing a long diagonal for Marc Schnatterer, the Heidenheim captains touch was exceptional to roll Tobias Levels, but the resulting shot didn't trouble Ramazan Özcan.

die Schanzer nearly took the lead when Marcel Titsch-Rivero's deflection looped just over Jan Zimmermann's crossbar, and from the resulting corner they'd go close again, but Marvin Matip's header had the same outcome, going just over the bar.

But with their next chance, it wouldn't be the same story and die Schanzer would take the lead in spectacular style. Alfredo Morales found Pascal Groß in acres of space. The midfield maestro charged towards the Heidenheim box before unleashing a rasping strike straight into the top corner of Jan Zimmermann's goal, to get his seventh goal of the campaign. The 1. FC Heidenheim 'stopper had no chance and got nowhere near the effort.

The table topping visitors were in full flow now and were pressing the hosts at every given opportunity; something we've come accustomed to with Ralph Hasenhüttl's side. Lukas Hinterseer had a chance to extend the lead, but the Austrian's volley didn't work Zimmermann in the end. Matthew Leckie's pace was causing the Heidenheim defence all sorts of problems and the Australian international nearly took advantage of this, but once again Zimmermann did well to deny die Schanzer a two goal lead.

The best Frank Schmidt's side could offer in return was a long range Marc Schnatterer effort, that was never troubling Ramazan Özcan. After a bright start the hosts had been dominated for large swathes of the first half, something that will have not pleased Schmidt, but this could've been down to the tactical change that the Heidenheim native employed in his starting formation.

Alper Bagceci was sacrificed at half time for Andreas Voglsammer in an effort to offer more in the final third, but this wasn't evident in the opening stages of the second period as die Schanzer continued to dominant. Lukas Hinterseer had another chance to double the Ingolstadt lead, but was once again wasteful and missed the target completely.

However the change began to bear fruit the longer the half went on; Andreas Voglsammer latched on to a long ball before holding off Marvin Matip. The half time substitute's eventual effort was destined for the top corner, but an acrobatic save by Özcan kept the away side in the lead.

The hosts were now exerting a lot of pressure on the FC Ingolstadt defence and without Özcan the scores would've been level. The Austrian doing well to deny Florian Niederlechner in a one-on-one situation.

However, die Schanzer were a constant threat whilst in attack partly down to good play from the trio of Roger, Alfredo Morales and Pascal Groß in midfield but also because of poor defending from FC Heidenheim; something that had been evident in their recent results.

The duo of Andreas Voglsammer and Florian Niederlechner were a constant threat throughout the second half, however the longer it went on the better Marvin Matip and Benjamin Hübner were doing to restrict the pair; reducing the hosts to long range efforts and hopeful long balls.

Matthew Leckie will have felt he should have done better with his effort from the edge of the box; the Australian's effort lacked accuracy and sailed into the gloves of Jan Zimmermann. However it wouldn't matter in the end as the hosts were unable to create any notable chances in the remaining five minutes and die Schanzer would pick up a huge three points.

The result see's FC Ingolstadt 04 remain in first place, extending their lead over FC Kaiserslautern ahead of their game at Fortuna Düsseldorf on Monday. Next up for die Schanzer is a tie against Fortuna at the Audi Sportpark. 1. FC Heidenheim remain in tenth, but could be caught by a number of clubs after the weekends play; they face SV Darmstadt 98 away next.

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Alex Howell
A writer of football related words. A Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga enthusiast and the only English member of FC Ingolstadt 04 and current producer of content for the official site. Thanks for visiting my profile. Find my twitter @Bundesliga_UK