Heidenheim are now unbeaten in their last three league games. - © Christian Kaspar-Bartke

bundesliga

Heidenheim handed Bundesliga survival lifeline following victory over Union Berlin on Matchday 29

11.04.2026

With their 3-1 win against Union Berlin on Matchday 29, Frank Schmidt's Heidenheim side made the declaration to the rest of the league that they will not be going down without a fight.

After two impressive draws against Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Mönchengladbach on Matchdays 27 and 28 respectively, Heidenheim finally secured the three points they have been crying out for for weeks as they ended a 15-game winless run against Union Berlin on Saturday.

With the benefit of hindsight, Union were the perfect team for Schmidt's men to play at this stage in the season, given that their record against Die Eisernen in the top flight now stands at five wins and one draw in six games.

However, not wanting to dwell on the significance of this result, the Heidenheim gaffer was characteristically pragmatic in his post-match assessment, explaining: "We’re not getting carried away just because we won a game. In many matches, it wasn’t about the number of chances but about converting them. Today, we managed to bring that quality out onto the pitch."

Watch: Heidenheim 3-1 Union Berlin - highlights

It is perhaps understandable that Schmidt would downplay the importance of the victory, but the reality is that survival suddenly seems a more tangible reality. After all, the gap to the relegation play-off spot - currently occupied by St. Pauli, whom Heidenheim face at home in two weeks' time - has shrunk from 10 points to just six over the past three games.

The hero of the afternoon was Mathias Honsak, whose first two goals of the season comprised the decisive brace that sunk the Berliners. Schmidt will be hoping the Austrian has hit form at just the right time to offer Heidenheim a different attacking option on the season's home stretch.

Honsak's first-half brace against Union ultimately proved decisive and presented Schmidt with the good kind of selection dilemma for the final five games. - IMAGO/DiZ-PiX

Next up, however, is a trip to Freiburg for a game in which Heidenheim will need to be at their very best if they're to get a result, given that Julian Schuster's side have only lost at home twice all season (to Augsburg and Bayern Munich).

Nevertheless, if this current vein of form continues, anything might be possible in the run-in by the end the next matchday. Heidenheim just need to maintain momentum - something Schmidt knows all to well, and also hinted at in his post-match comments, when he admitted "it would be amazing to repeat today’s victory in Freiburg."