Bo Henriksen and Mainz are now floundering at the foot of the Bundesliga after a humiliation in the Black Forest
I
t was, as the clock chimed metaphorical midnight in Berlin, just another Bundesliga day for Heidenheim, without help, hope or points as they trailed Union going into the 90th minute, heading towards another weekend at the foot of the table and, no doubt, for the umpteenth time so far this season, veteran coach Frank Schmidt warning that at current pace, relegation was less a fear and more an inevitability.
Then it all changed. A burst down the right from Omar Haktab Traoré and a cross to the front post was met by fellow substitute Stefan Schimmer, and a wobbling Union had stumbled. The away side sensed the moment and a corner from Arijon Ibrahimovic, swung in just after the announced four minutes of stoppage time in moments added by Schimmer’s goal and its aftermath, was headed in by another sub, Jan Schöppner, to spark pandemonium. Referee Patrick Ittrich almost immediately blew for full-time and finally, more than two months after their hitherto solitary Bundesliga win of the season, Schmidt and company were taking three points home.
It was an unpleasant bit of déjà vu for Union, having conceded a slightly more prestigious last-gasp heartbreaker to Harry Kane in their previous home game but it all came down, in the end, to the Heidenheim hex. Union have not beaten Heidenheim in 11 meetings now, and never at all in top-flight action. If ever it was going to happen, perhaps it had to be now.
