Schmidt and Kleindienst satisfied despite draw: "One of the best games of the season."
FC Heidenheim trainer Frank Schmidt and lead striker Tim Kleindienst obstinately refused to allow their day to be spoiled when conducting their respective post-match interviews on Saturday afternoon.
The newly promoted side had cause to feel hard done by after two disallowed goals that might have seen them top Wolfsburg. Schmidt nevertheless lavished his team with praise.
A 1-1 draw against VfL Wolfsburg on Saturday afternoon gives 1. FC Heidenheim a total of 22 points with just over half of the 2023/24 Bundesliga campaign completely. The newly-promoted small-town BaWü border club - the captain of which was happy to engage in some "relegation-race arithmetic" earlier in the season - now has the numbers on its side. The Albogeners are well on their way to reaching the "magic number" of 35 points generally considered to be the official top-flight safety mark.
The newly promoted side had cause to feel hard done by after two disallowed goals that might have seen them top Wolfsburg. Schmidt nevertheless lavished his team with praise.
Heidenheim also opened up an 11-point advantage on the two clubs presently occupying the automatic relegation places, SV Darmstadt 98 and 1. FC Köln. It was perhaps for this reason that neither head-coach Frank Schmidt nor lead-striker Tim Kleindienst found themselves in a foul mood after two disallowed goals prevented them from earning all three points against visiting VfL Wolfsburg.
Kleindienst lamented his luck somewhat, but concluded his post-match interview before the Sky microphones on a positive. The 28-year-old didn't appear bitter about his own disallowed goal, speaking of "a point earned at the end of the day". Schmidt quickly moved on from the assertion that "the team should have won" and launched straight into praise for his lads.
"What really pleases me is that we totally controlled the game," Schmidt said, "I congratulated them on their performance today. In footballing terms it was one of the best games of the season. I really enjoyed it today."