Millimetres from a miracle – Elversberg’s playoffs end in pain and pride
A final shot, a decision by millimetres, and a bitter reality: SV Elversberg missed out on being promoted to the Bundesliga in the final seconds. Elversberg were the better team in footballing terms against Bundesliga team Heidenheim, but were not rewarded for their efforts. Nevertheless, it is a story for ages – and one that should fill everyone with pride.
It was an evening that Elversberg will not easily forget. After 180 intense minutes of playoff football against Bundesliga team 1. FC Heidenheim, SV Elversberg had promotion to the upper echelons of German football within reach – but lost out in the final seconds. 1:2 in their home stadium after a dramatic 2:2 first leg sealed their place in the 2. Bundesliga, leaving them with the pain of losing out on a historic victory but also a deep awareness that the team have achieved something great.
Their failure to be promoted was ultimately down less to their own performance than to bitter chance. ‘It is like a slap in the face. We experienced the worst side of football’, striker Fisnik Asllani said to Sky after the final whistle. Elversberg were the better playing team throughout the entire playoffs, driving significant portions of both matches and demonstrating courage, clever play and tactical discipline. But ultimately, the final playoff goal went to the other team. ‘The whole of Germany has seen how well we can play football. But it wasn’t meant to be. We are extremely disappointed, extremely sad’, Asllani added.
The 22 year old, whose loan from TSG Hoffenheim will end in the summer, said with a crack in his voice:
I wanted to give something back to the team, the people, the whole of Saarland. This has been the best year of my life, I can only thank everyone. We missed out by a few millimetres, it is incredibly sad, but everyone absolutely gave their all.
The match itself was a real reflection of the promotion fight: fast-paced, emotional and hugely hard-fought. Elversberg’s coach Horst Steffen only made one change compared with the first leg: top defender Pinckert replaced Rohr in the defensive lineup. On the Heidenheim side, Frank Schmidt made two changes two his starting eleven. Dorsch and Beck were removed, replaced by Kerber and Scienza.
After a just few minutes, it was clear how tight this match would be. The early stages of the match were controlled by Heidenheim. In the ninth minute, Scienza delivered the ball to a moving Honsak. He kept his cool in front of the SVE keeper and gave the Ostalb team an early lead. However, Elversberg responded with resilience and courage. Substitutions on both sides due to injury – Sahin had to be replaced by Sickinger for SVE, Zivzivadze came on to replace Pieringer for Heidenheim – interrupted the flow of play, but the home team increasingly gained a foothold in the game.
They were rewarded for their efforts in the 31st minute: Zimmerschied managed to gain some space in the penalty box and found captain Fellhauer, who calmly fired the ball in for a well-earned 1:1 equaliser. The match remained disjointed until half-time, but the tension was palpable.
Shortly after the whistle to restart play in the second half, the stadium exploded: Asllani completed an attack down the right hand side to make it 2:1 for Elversberg – they thought. The VAR intervened, and after a few minutes of review, referee Stegemann ruled that Petkov was offside in the run-up. ‘Lukas Petkov encroached when we thought we were 2:1 up. This was a decision by millimetres, it is a really bitter pill for us’, Steffen later commented on the situation.
After this, the game was controlled by SVE. They pressed for a win, looking for gaps in the deep Heidenheim defence, but lacked the final precision they needed. Heidenheim were increasingly passive, but saved things at the final stage with a combination of luck and skill. Then, in the fifth minute of extra time, came the shock to the system: a direct attack via Joker Wanner, a pass to Scienza, who slid it on to Le Joncour, who fired it in from the inside left to score the 2:1 winning goal for Heidenheim.
Putting in a performance like that and losing hurts. The boys fought brilliantly and deserved more than failing to be promoted
Horst Steffen said. But adds: ‘Seeing our opponents celebrate doesn’t hurt. Putting in a performance like that and still losing, that hurts.’
The disappointment among the players, coaches and fans was clear. However, there was still pride and quiet satisfaction at a season that was anything but a failure. ‘We played a very good season. We have showed the German footballing world what we can do. Sometimes it just isn’t meant to be. I don’t begrudge Heidenheim the win, even though we were better in footballing terms. But that is how it goes in football. We will be back on the attack next season’, Tom Zimmerschied said.
Sports director Ole Book also had a few words to say summarising the evening and the season as a whole:
It is difficult right now. We were the better team throughout and Heidenheim slipped in with their final goal. That is a bitter pill. This will be a difficult few days. But our team absolutely has a winning mentality. All of us are true winners, and will remain so.
In the run-up, some observers derided the match as being small and insignificant, but this was countered by an evening of exceptional quality football – tactically smart, emotionally driven and exciting right through to the final minute. ‘The whole of Germany has seen how well we can play football’, Asllani said – a sentence that demonstrates more than just disappointment: it also bears witness to the development that this club has achieved.
Heidenheim, meanwhile, end a nerve-racking season by remaining in the Bundesliga. ‘A weight has been lifted’, FCH coach Frank Schmidt said. ‘Of course, you try to remain loose and relaxed, but the tension was huge.’ Schmidt admitted that he was ‘knackered’. ‘No-one needs to call me any more either. I will be back brimming with energy at some point.’
This was a match between two evenly-matched teams, facing each other with respect, fighting spirit and passion. The Bundesliga team remain top-class, and congratulations are owed, but SVE have still won our hearts. Missing out on the promotion is no dishonour, but instead a bitter yet honest chapter in an impressive promotion story.
The new 2. Bundesliga season begins the first weekend of August. Elversberg will be back – not as a tragic figure, but as an ambitious challenger, since anyone who plays football with this skill, passion and determination has long since earned respect. The final victory remained out of reach, but SV Elversberg have nevertheless achieved a mini footballing miracle.