“I’m proud of the character in this team,” said Hannes Wolf, praising his side’s response to going behind and their unwavering self-belief. Heidenheim’s 42nd-minute equaliser came at a point where Stuttgart were in complete control, dominating possession to the tune of 65 per cent. And while they may not have shown quite the same attacking purpose after the restart, VfB barely gave their opponents a sniff at the other end and were soon back on the front foot. Christian Gentner hit a post and Simon Terodde saw his header cleared off the line (64’), but the Heidenheim defence were helpless to stop Josip Brekalo’s strike to make it 2-1, the Croatian becoming the sixth VfB player this season to score off the bench.
Focus switches to FCK
The remainder of the match may not have been easy on the eye but, with the red-and-white army behind them, the Swabians carried the momentum and pulled together and dug in. The boys from Canstatt fought and harried for every ball and threw themselves in front of every opposition strike. Kevin Großkreutz cleared off the line, as did Brekalo. Mitch Langerak parried another effort onto bar and post. Impassioned and determined, VfB clung on for victory – and the sense of relief at the final whistle was palpable.
“We just won’t lie down,“ captain Gentner said afterwards, explaining how he and his colleagues hauled the three points over the line – and in doing so coining a motto for the coming weeks. Indeed, even with Friday’s victory in the bag, nothing has been achieved yet. A hard week’s training is up next, ahead of Sunday’s clash against 1. FC Kaiserslautern at the Mercedes-Benz Arena (13:30CET). “We’re going to enjoy the win tonight, but then we need to turn our attentions to the next challenge,” said Hannes Wolf. “We need to take the same mentality we showed here in Heidenheim into our next few matches as well.”