Dortmund dispatch 10-men Heidenheim in comfortable fashion

Die Schwarzgelben ran out comfortable 2-0 winners against the 10 men of 1.FC Heidenheim.

An injury-hit Borussia Dortmund picked up their first away win of the campaign while starting on the front foot in Heidenheim – Karim Adeyemi forced a save out of Diant Ramaj in the opening seconds. An unfortunate incident followed as Leart Paqarada rolled his ankle in the turf which forced Frank Schmidt into an early change. Jonas Föhrenbach entered the fray at left-back. 

BVB continued to apply pressure as Serhou Guirassy tested Ramaj with a close-range strike. Things went from bad to worse for the hosts as Budu Zivizivadze was brandished with the red card on 22 minutes for a high challenge on Felix Nmecha. Once again, Ramaj was key in preventing BVB’s Malian marksman with a fine parry to deny his headed effort. 

With the numerical advantage, BVB eventually took the lead past the half-hour as Ryerson crossed for Guirassy who picked out the corner with a delicate header. Heidenheim almost levelled from a neat set-piece routine as Honsak shot was blocked, but instead they headed for the dressing rooms 2-0 down as Adeyemi raced in behind and squared unselfishly for Maxi Beier. 

After the break, Aaron Ibrahimovic lit a flame under the home crowd with a mazy run and a powerful drive which forced Gregor Kobel into his first save of the afternoon. Shortly after the hour, Niko Kovač saw fit to make a double alteration as Jobe Bellingham and Carney Chukwuemeka replaced the yellow-carded Adeyemi and Pascal Groß. 

As the game ebbed through it’s proceedings with BVB comfortable in control, Jobe created another opportunity for Guirassy which couldn’t get the better of Ramaj. Chukwuemeka came close to joining in on the fun alongside Nmecha from range, but in truth, the Westphalian giants cruised to a simple three points on the road to give them confidence before their clash with Juventus in Europe.