Heidenheim’s game at Dynamo Dresden ended in a 1-1 draw. The visitors were the superior team for a long time before a very controversial penalty ensured the draw. That, of course, prompted a lot of discussion.
It was the crux of the 1-1 draw between Dynamo Dresden and 1. FC Heidenheim at the start of the 23rd matchday: the penalty scene after just under an hour. Shortly before, Stefan Schimmer had given the visitors the lead with his tenth second league goal in total, all of which he scored as a wild card for Heidenheim – before the penalty kick tipped the course of the game. “I don’t see him coming from behind and then there is a slight contact,” Jan Schöppner described the duel with Julius Kade in the 58th minute after the final whistle on “Sky”. At first, referee Franz Bokop had let the scene go, but after a hint from his video referee Michael Bacher, he made a review on the monitor – and as a result, he pointed to the spot.
VAR call “not comprehensible “
“Maybe I can jump up more cleanly and not extend my arm like that,” continued Schöppner, who, however, did not perceive the “disputed scene” as a “clear wrong decision”. VAR intervention would therefore not have been necessary. The long-time coach of the FCH, Frank Schmidt, took a similar view at the post-match press conference: “I believe that the situation falls under the heading of ‘no blatant wrong decision'”. Accordingly, he could “not understand why the VAR got involved”.
This was doubly bitter for the coach, especially after the 0:2 loss at HSV. In Hamburg, his team had already been awarded a penalty that he found “difficult to understand”. This week, Schmidt said, “it was even more difficult”. “In the end, we have to be satisfied that we took the point,” was the 48-year-old’s final conclusion. “The 1-1 woke up the stadium and Dynamo had three or four chances to turn the game around.”
Point win happy in the end
On this point, too, there was unanimity in the camp of the pursuers in the promotion race: “We were also lucky once or twice that Dresden didn’t turn the game around completely,” Oliver Hüsing summed up the final phase at the Rudolf Harbing Stadium and added: “Overall, unfortunately, we have to live with the point.” For the centre-back, however, this development could also be traced back to the penalty whistle: “In my opinion, the referee brought Dynamo back into the game with the penalty decision.”
The Heidenheim side are now also looking to get back into the promotion race after two games without a win. They are aiming for another win against Sandhausen next Sunday.
