Dortmund squanders 2-goal lead as promoted Heidenheim grabs its first ever point in the Bundesliga

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This article was published 01/09/2023 (1129 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

BERLIN (AP) — Niclas Füllkrug made his Borussia Dortmund debut on Friday but couldn’t prevent the team squandering a two-goal lead as promoted Heidenheim fought back to draw 2-2 and claim its first point in the Bundesliga.

“Two-nil down after 14 minutes and then to take a point, Heidenheim in Dortmund, it’s mega,” visiting coach Frank Schmidt said.

Dortmund fans whistled at their team at fulltime, frustrated after it failed to make more of its chances in an error-strewn performance. It’s Dortmund’s second consecutive draw after it opened with a fortunate win over Cologne.

“It’s hard to explain,” Dortmund coach Edin Terzić said. “We completely let the game out of our hands … in the end you have to say that we defeated ourselves.”

Germany striker Füllkrug, who joined from league rival Werder Bremen on Thursday, made his debut in the 78th minute when he went on for Sébastien Haller.

Haller had just conceded a penalty for a foul on Jan-Niklas Beste, but Dortmund was relieved after a VAR check ruled Beste was offside.

However, referee Tobias Reichel reviewed the decision again some minutes later and decided Haller controlled the ball, playing Beste onside before he fouled him. Reichel booked Haller, who was on the substitute’s bench at this stage, and awarded Heidenheim the penalty, which was duly scored by Tim Kleindienst in the 83rd.

Julian Brandt got Dortmund off to a good start in the seventh when he turned and fired in off the underside of the crossbar, and Emre Can made it 2-0 with a penalty in the 14th.

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But Dortmund failed to make more of its dominance and the visitors deservedly pulled one back through Eren Dinkçi in the 61st after a mistake from Dortmund’s Marius Wolf. Dinkçi looked up and let fly with a precise shot inside the right post.

Donyell Malen and Karim Adeyemi missed good chances before Felix Nmecha struck the crossbar for Dortmund.

Heidenheim, promoted for the first time last season, also had a goal ruled out for offside early in the second half.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer