Pieringer and El Mala score wonder goals in entertaining draw | OneFootball

With both sides fighting relegation, such games usually tend to be cagey affairs. However, this one was different from the first whistle. The visitors had the game’s first two opportunities through Ragnar Ache and Jakub Kamiński. They went behind in the 15th minute when the hosts scored one of the goals of the season, though.

There have been plenty of calls for supersub Stefan Schimmer to earn a starting berth, but Marvin Pieringer responded by scoring with an overhead kick. The striker seemed to be in a difficult position when Jan Schöppner crossed the ball from the right flank, but he managed to score with an audacious effort.

Four minutes later, Eric Martel also provided a difficult finish at the other end to head home Alessio Castro-Montes’ cross. The midfielder saw his fifth yellow card of the season shortly after, which means he’ll be out of the home game against Bayern Munich on Wednesday.

The all-action first-half saw Heidenheim regain their lead before the half-hour mark. Castro-Montes had to be on the sidelines due to a bleeding nose when Heidenheim followed a short corner-kick routine, and the hosts scored after a goalmouth scramble. Marvin Schwäbe pulled an unorthodox save from Arijon Ibrahimović’s attempt, but debutant Jahmai Simpson-Pusey was unable to clear Julian Niehues’ effort from the rebound.

The Bayern Munich loanee had another good opportunity to score Heidenheim’s third before Sirlord Conteh missed an absolute sitter on his return to the starting lineup. Simpson-Pusey was denied twice on the stroke of half-time with Köln’s only other clear-cut chance since Martel’s goal.The story was very different after the restart, though. Köln dominated the second-half from start to finish as Diant Ramaj played a starring role for Heidenheim. However, he had no chance to save Said El Mala's excellent effort as the youngster scored his seventh goal of the season with a slightly deflected shot from outside the box.

The Borussia Dortmund loanee made several saves in the second-half as Heidenheim salvaged a crucial point in their bid to avoid the drop. Before their tough fixture on Wednesday, Köln's unbeaten streak extended to seven league matches. 

Heidenheim face Mainz on matchday 17, while Köln entertain league leaders Bayern Munich as the Bundesliga will continue with midweek action.