Heidenheim beats Stuttgart for vital points in relegation fight

STUTTGART, Germany (AP) — Relegation-threatened Heidenheim scored in the 89th minute to win at Stuttgart 1-0 on Friday and grab a vital three points in its fight to avoid the Bundesliga drop.

The result closed the gap to five points between Heidenheim and Hoffenheim, in the safe fourth-from-bottom position.

The third-to-last team goes into a playoff to preserve its Bundesliga status.

Mathias Honsak got the winner with a superb curling shot from outside the box to condemn Stuttgart to a sixth consecutive home defeat.

Stuttgart had most of the chances but could not score and it will rue missing a chance to bolster its hopes of a top-six finish. It remained 11th.

It could still qualify for Europe by beating third-tier Arminia Bielefeld in next month’s German Cup final.

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