An own goal from Norman Theuerkauf cancelled out Arne Feick's opener just 10 minutes later as 1. FC Kaiserslautern and 1. FC Heidenheim played out a 1-1 draw.
Team news
Norbert Meier was on an emotional rollercoaster last week having been 2-0 up against Dynamo Dresden, before FCK rescued a point with a late equaliser to make it three-all. Meier opted for three alterations after the huge effort as Marcel Gaus, Ewerton and Christopher Moritz were replaced by Robin Koch, Marlon Frey und Osayamen Osawe.
As for Frank Schmidt and Heidenheim, they were keen to keep up momentum after coming from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 against Sandhausen. However, changes were made. Robin Becker, Hauke Wahl and Tim Skarke all made it into the starting line-up ahead of the injured Timo Beermann, suspended John Verhoek and benched Ronny Philp.
Chances few and far between
Heidenheim began the game on top but with very little in the way of penetration against a Kaiserslautern defence that has been stoic throughout the season. Tim Kleindienst had a goal chalked off for offside after a clever through ball, while Arne Feick's finish after good work from Skarke saw the left-back find the stands instead of the net.
For Kaiserslautern, following a rather slow beginning, finally began to move forward as the half went on. Building off a stable defence allowed Meier's men to throw players forward at set-pieces and Sebastian Kerk's delivery almost paid dividends. He connected with a deep free-kick to pick out Robert Glatzel, but the youngster headed wide.
Osayamen Osawe was dangerous throughout the half and produced several teasing crosses, yet no-one was able to connect with any and the first half ended goalless.
Fight to the very end
Keen to see an improvement in his side following the interval, Meier made two changes and replaced both defensive midfielders. Stipe Vucur took the place of Marlon Frey while Jacques Zoua came on for Patrick Ziegler. A surprise decision by all accounts, but the change in emphasis and formation seemed to peg back Heidenheim at least.
Kaiserslautern created some meaningful chances after that and none greater than Zoua's looping header that saw Kevin Müller scuttle backward to brilliantly tip it over the bar.
However, despite being the better side, the hosts fell behind. Some poor marking from a set-piece proved to be fatal, as Marc Schnatterer's wicked delivery was perfect for Feick to rise up and nod home unmarked. Questions were asked of the home defence still, and Kerk's acrobatic clearance and Kleindienst glanced another header wide.
After all those chances, an odd own goal would get Kaiserslautern back in the game just 10 minutes after going behind. After an effort was cleared and put back into the mix, the ball dropped for Zoltan Stieber to volley at goal. That took a deflection and crashed off the bar before bouncing in off Theuerkauf's thigh. However, a push from Glatzel was key.
There was late pressure from the hosts to get a winning goal yet Müller and Heidenheim stood firm to earn a share of the spoils. The result kept both sides in 13th and 6th, respectively.