Leverkusen had made it five successive H2H wins with a 6-0 thumping in the reverse fixture, and after a quiet opening period, they edged ahead here with the first shot on target of the game after 22 minutes.
Having dominated possession without creating a clear-cut opening, a delightful whipped ball from Aleix Garcia unlocked the Heidenheim defence, allowing Malik Tillman to ghost in unmarked at the back post, where he cushioned home a controlled side-foot volley.
Chances were largely at a premium, but Kasper Hjulmand will have been unperturbed as his side doubled their advantage 10 minutes before the break, with Patrik Schick powering in a close-range header from Alejandro Grimaldo’s excellent cross.
That marked the 10th time in 11 games against the current top six in which Heidenheim had conceded at least twice.
An uphill battle awaited FCH after the restart, yet they came agonisingly close to halving the deficit when the ball broke to half-time substitute Julian Niehues, who sliced an effort onto the outside of the post.
And soon after, a touch of fortune handed Heidenheim a lifeline, as Hennes Behrens’s inswinging ball from deep appeared to evade everyone in the box, bouncing all the way into the back of the net, and surviving a VAR check, with Patrick Mainka seemingly claiming the goal.
Suddenly, the complexion of the contest had changed, and with momentum now on their side, Heideheim levelled the game 18 minutes from time. Robert Andrich was undoubtedly at fault, tangling in the box with Marvin Pieringer, who dusted himself off to dispatch the subsequent penalty and set up an intriguing finale.
However, parity lasted just seven minutes, with Grimaldo and Schick combining again, this time from a corner, as the forward nodded home from inside the six-yard box to replicate the brace he scored in the reverse fixture. Undeterred, Heidenehim fought back once more, netting from a corner of their own in the 85th minute when Pieringer’s header left Mark Flekken rooted to the spot.
That proved to be the last piece of meaningful action, and despite a positive second-half performance, a point will do little to ease Heidenheim’s fears of returning to the second tier after a three-year stay in the Bundesliga, as they sit nine points adrift of the relegation play-off spot.
Meanwhile, sixth-placed Die Werkself have won just one of their last nine games across all competitions (D6, L2), a run that leaves them four points off the three sides directly above them in their hunt to qualify for Europe’s top-tier competition.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Marvin Pieringer (Heidenheim)