Line-up:
Bredlow (Funk 46') – Hendriks, Stiller, Mittelstädt (Schramm 46'), Karazor, Leweling, Stergiou (van der Leij 80'), Prömel (Rölke 46'), Undav, Nartey (Penna 29', Assignon 60'), Jeltsch (Chabot 46').
Match summary
Sebastian Hoeneß used the friendly against the second-division side at Stadion Benzach in Weinstadt to give Nikolas Nartey some valuable minutes after his recent injury. Atakan Karazor started alongside Angelo Stiller in midfield, and it was a decision that soon paid off. In a first half largely lacking goalmouth excitement, Karazor put VfB 1-0 up at the break, finishing from ten metres after fine work from Jamie Leweling.
In the second half, Lorenz Assignon made his comeback following a lengthy injury lay-off, replacing Lauri Penna in the 60th minute. He soon made it 2-0 with a spectacular overhead kick from another Leweling assist. The attacker also created the third when Jeff Chabot met his cut-back perfectly to complete the scoring at 3-0.
Goals
42nd minute – 1-0: Leweling cuts the ball back to Karazor, who buries the deserved opener from 10 metres out.
72nd minute – 2-0: Leweling chips the ball into the middle, where Assignon meets it with a spectacular bicycle kick into the net.
86th minute – 3-0: Another goal, another Leweling assist. This time he sets up Chabot to find the net.
Reaction:
Sebastian Hoeneß: “In the first half, we struggled because of the heavy, uneven pitch and because Heidenheim defended quite deep. That made things difficult for us as the team looking to take the initiative. We did better in the second half, played with more freedom and put together a number of good attacks. We could perhaps have scored another two or three goals, but at the other end we didn’t allow Heidenheim any more chances as the second half went on. Above all, though, the main thing today was to come through the game without any injuries and take another step forward physically.”
