Heidenheim close gap with St. Pauli after massive win

Heidenheim won the first game after Frank Schmidt suggested next season could be his last at the club where he spent two decades as a coach. The bottom-placed outfit defeated St. Pauli with goals at either end of half-time by Budu Zivzivadze and Eren Dinkçi.

The result closed the gap between the two teams to only four points with three rounds left to play. Since Wolfsburg had only managed a goalless draw at home to Borussia Mönchengladbach, Heidenheim suddenly have a real chance of survival.

Zivzivadze opened the scoring for the hosts in the third minute as he scored for the third game running. The only difference for the Georgian attacker was that he had done it as a starter this time.

Dinkçi, who is having a tough time away from football after his partner Cinja was diagnosed with blood cancer, scored the second with the assist coming from Heidenheim’s goalkeeper, Diant Ramaj.

Alongside the game, due to a lack of matches within her family, Heidenheim registered potential stem-cell donors for Cinja around Voith-Arena. Dinkçi’s former club Freiburg did the same initiative before their home game against Heidenheim last week.

St. Pauli’s defeat was a big relief for the five teams above them, including Köln, HSV, and Bremen. The former are still five points ahead of Alexander Blessin’s team despite their derby defeat to Bayer Leverkusen, while the Northern rivals will have the chance to extend that gap with their respective matchday 31 fixtures yet to be played.