Freiburg Dominates Heidenheim After Halftime – Manzambi Makes Debut – Match Highlights
The Sport-Club from Freiburg has confirmed their strong start to the season. Against 1. FC Heidenheim, the Breisgauers saved all their firepower for the second half and emerged victorious in the end.
On the Bundesliga’s 4th matchday, Heidenheim’s head coach Frank Schmidt made three changes to the team following their first season loss, a 2-4 defeat in Dortmund. Busch, Honsak (making his league debut), and Breunig replaced Schöppner, Scienza (both on the bench), and Beck (not in the squad) as starters against his former club.
Similarly, on the Freiburg side, SCF coach Julian Schuster had to make adjustments after their 2-1 home victory over Bochum, with Rosenfelder injured and Röhl out long-term with a syndesmosis injury. Ginter and Dinkci (making his league debut) started, with Dinkci having played under Frank Schmidt in the previous season.
The clash between two teams tied in points at the end of last season and the beginning of this season started evenly as expected. Freiburg, slightly more active in the initial phase, struggled against Heidenheim’s compact defense. Meanwhile, Schmidt’s team took time to make offensive strides, with Honsak posing a threat after a well-crafted combination early on (19th minute).
Few highlights occurred in the uneventful first half, with Breunig narrowly missing a potential opening goal just before halftime (45+1). Freiburg’s set pieces failed to make an impact.
As both teams emerged unchanged after halftime, the game dynamics shifted dramatically. Freiburg turned up the pressure, catching Heidenheim off guard. Dinkci missed a chance from ten meters out (49th minute), but Doan made no mistake five minutes later, cutting inside and slotting the ball into the far corner (54th minute).
Heidenheim’s errors compounded in this phase, and five minutes after Doan’s goal, the ball fell to Grifo, who made it 2-0 with ease (59th minute).
Heidenheim was now completely off balance, and even Schmidt’s triple substitution couldn’t alter their passive approach. The hosts lacked intensity, allowing Freiburg to control possession in their box. Grifo capitalized on another loose ball to extend the lead to 3-0 (65th minute).
With the game virtually sealed, Heidenheim endured a forgettable second half. The Sport-Club remained composed, launching counterattacks and could have added more goals. In the final minutes, Schuster gave 18-year-old Swiss player Manzambi his Bundesliga debut (80th minute).
After a lackluster conclusion, it was evident that SC Freiburg had secured their first Bundesliga victory against Heidenheim and solidified their position in the top group. Meanwhile, Heidenheim, after conceding seven goals in the last two games, faces significant challenges ahead.
Goals and Cards
– 0:1 Doan (54th minute)
– 0:2 Grifo (59th minute)
Match Data
– Referee Team
– Stadium: Voith-Arena
– Attendance: 15,000 (sold out)
Heidenheim faces an away game in Mainz next Saturday (3:30 PM), while SCF hosts St. Pauli at the same time.