Heartbreak for Hamburg as Heidenheim clinches Bundesliga promotion

Sun, May 28, 2023
Other News (AP)

BERLIN (AP) - Tim Kleindienst scored in the ninth minute of injury time for Heidenheim to clinch Bundesliga promotion at Hamburger SV's expense with a 3-2 win at Jahn Regensburg on the final day of the season.

Hamburg fans were prematurely celebrating their team's automatic promotion to the top tier on Sunday when they stormed the field after a 1-0 win at last-place SV Sandhausen. Their wait after five seasons in the second division was over - or so they thought.

Heidenheim, which had been second in a direct promotion place before the final round, was losing at Regensburg, but the visitors had 11 minutes of injury time to get the two goals they needed for promotion.

Then Heidenheim was awarded a penalty, confirmed by a VAR check, and Jan-Niklas Beste equalized in the third minute of injury time.

There was still time for Beste to set up Kleindienst for the winner in a desperate finale, causing consternation among Hamburg fans watching from afar.

Soccer

Heidenheim finished second division champion thanks to already promoted Darmstadt's 4-0 loss at Greuther Furth. It's Heidenheim's first-ever promotion to the Bundesliga.

Hamburg finished third in the second division and will contest the relegation/promotion playoff against Stuttgart, which finished third from bottom in the Bundesliga on Saturday, to see which team plays in the top division next season.

It had looked like Jean-Luc Dompe's third-minute strike was enough for Hamburg to finish second behind Darmstadt - but Heidenheim's late goals spoiled the party.

Hamburg was relegated from the Bundesliga in 2018 after several close brushes with demotion. It had been the only ever-present team in the league since it was founded in 1963, earning the nickname "der Dino."

Heidenheim is the 57th team to play in the Bundesliga

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