A second-half turnaround from Heidenheim saw them overcome Kaiserslautern, although it wasn't without its fair share of controversy.
Heidenheim's strong start to the season continued away at Sandhausen last weekend and were keen to continue that form. Sebastian Heidinger came in for Ronny Philp, while Andreas Voglsammer replaced Daniel Frahn in Frank Schmidt's only two alterations.
Kaiserslautern were in similarly good form and also wanted to maintain their promotion push to finally make their long-awaited Bundesliga return. A week on from their win over Paderborn and Kosta Runjaic opted for a more attacking team, as he brought in Antonio-Mirko Colak for Patrick Ziegler.
Perfect start for FCK
It was a physical start at the Voith-Arena and neither side were keen to give the other an inch. That right marking was crucial, as it prevented Daniel Halfar's volley from rocketing past Jan Zimmermann; Kevin Kraus was able to back the vital interception. The hosts responded through Smail Morabit but his shot flew wildly over. Kacper Przybylko also had an early opportunity and he glanced a free header wide of the post.
The Polish forward would not make the same mistake twice and quickly made amends for his earlier miss. In what was an almost identical chance, Przybylko rose highest and connected perfectly with Markus Karl's cross, flicking it into the bottom corner and out of Zimmerman's reach. While the Pole's header was clinical, the delivery from Karl was even better.
Heidenheim began to fight their way back into the game and felt that Tim Heubach could have been handed his marching orders for an apparent last-man foul on Andreas Voglsammer. Benjamin Brand didn't see it that way, however. Voglsammer was proving to be a read thorn in the visitors' side and his shot had to be smartly saved by Marius Müller.
Przybylko and Stipe Vucur both had good, late chances for the Red Devils but couldn't quite finish them off; Kraus was on hand again to deny the former, in what was a very entertaining half of football. The second period began in spectacular circumstances, also.
Controversy at the start of the second half as Heidenheim go ahead
Kaiserslautern rampaged forward and Jean Zimmer connected well with Przybylko's cross. Morabit cleared the ball on the line - or so Brand thought -but the ball had clearly crossed and they were understandably livid. The Pole had an even better chance moments later and somehow managed to put the ball wide from just two yards out. Ruben Jenssen also had a good opportunity but, like his team-mate, headed wide of the goal.
The visitors were made to pay for their profligacy and Heidenheim were able to level, thanks to Müller's mistake. Vucur gave the ball to his 'keeper but was being closed down by Morabit and instead of clearing the ball from danger, the custodian attempted to find his defender and instead gave the ball to Morabit. He kept cool to slide the ball past the embarrassed shot-stopper, who had made a strong start to the season.
And like buses, where there is one there is normally two. This time there was nothing Müller could do, as Marc Schnatterer picked up the ball 25 yards from goal and arrowed a powerful shot in off the post. Two goals in four minutes had shell-shocked the dominant Kaiserslautern, and they were now looking extremely vulnerable.
Leipertz's lob seals it late on
They steadied themselves and looked set for a final push in the last few minutes but another Müller mistake put the game to bed. He tried to claim a hopeful long ball forward, instead flapping at the ball and colliding with his centre-half. Robert Leipertz was on hand to mop up after the miscommunication, lobbing into the open goal. It was a fantastic win for the hosts, although Kaiserslautern will feel extremely hard done by.