Despite chances falling to both sides, it took 1. FC Heidenheim until the 86th minute to get the better of 1860 Munich on a wonderfully sunny Sunday afternoon - with Kevin Kraus heading in the winner.
Heidenheim had recruited their fair share of players during the summer and handed three competitive debuts to Daniel Frahn, Norman Theuerkauf and Arne Feick, with plenty of pressure on the former to replace Florian Niederlechner's goalscoring exploits.
In stark contrast to their hosts, 1860 Munich had made a minimal amount of additions to their squad, though Milos Degenek was afford the opportunity to start the game. It had been a topsy-turvy summer for the Lions, and they were hoping to put that all behind them with a strong performance at the Voith-Arena.
Good chances for both sides early on
That attitude was evident from the opening minutes, as the visitors looked a new force early on. Valdet Rama whistled a shot past the post from just outside the area and Jan Zimmermann had to be alert to Daylon Claasen's attempt. The South African broke to the by-line and shot at Zimmermann on the angle, though the Heidenheim stopper was able to deal with it.
Marc Schnatterer had a the first real chance of the game from a home perspective, and he would have felt disappointed after not doing much better with it. Frahn cut the ball back across the box and, while it was a bouncing ball, the Heidenheim captain skied it over the bar. Further opportunities fell the way of the hosts, with Smail Morabit looking particularly dangerous.
The game fell into a slight lull as the midfield battle proved tough to breakthrough for both. Theuerkauf looked right at home on his first start for his new team, and it was his central midfield partner Sebastian Griesbeck that the final attempt of the half. He found himself in the unfamiliar right-midfield role, before sending a fierce drive across the face of goal - an even half in which neither side had shown enough spark to deserve a lead.
Second half continues to be hard-fought affair
The start of the second half brought an early penalty appeal for Heidenheim, with Schnatterer's free-kick striking the arm of Rubin Okotie in the wall. Unfortunately that was the forearm of the injured 1860 forward, and while the shouts for a spot-kick quickly fell on deaf ears, the Austrian required some treatment. Theuerkauf had a fantastic effort zip just wide of the post, as both sides continued to push for that elusive opening goal.
Eicher shines behind tiring defence
Marius Wolf and Korbinian Vollmann were brought on by Torsten Fröhling to freshen up the attack, with Ben Halloran's introduction an attempt by Frank Schmidt to have a similar effect on the game. There was an increased tempo with the substitutes, although the best chance of the entire match fell to Feick. The defender pulled away from his marker at a free-kick and somehow managed to put a free header wide from a few yards out - much to the dismay of the sell-out crowd.
Vitus Eicher had to be on top form to deny the next set of Heidenheim chances, producing a fantastic double save from Morabit and Schnatterer - the second was a brilliant stop, flicking a hand out to push it into the side netting. A similarly impressive action prevented Andreas Voglsammer from putting his side in front, managing to deny him in a dangerous one-on-one situation.
Kraus provides killer blow
Voglsammer forced Eicher into another save low to his right, though the resulting corner finally provided the opening goal. Schnatterer's corner was met powerfully by Kevin Kraus, who bulleted a header past the helpless Eicher to seal the three points late on. Heidenheim deserved the three points and will be happy to have finally broken down their stubborn visitors. 1860 can feel hard done by to concede so late on, especially after Eicher's heroics, though it was a lack of concentration that cost them dearly in the end.