Hertha BSC kept its perfect start to the 2. Fußball-Bundesliga with a 4:1 win over 1. FC Heidenheim on the second matchday, building a 3:0 lead before halftime and never really letting the game slip away. The result gave Hertha a second straight league victory and handed Frank Schmidt’s side its first setback of the season.
That is why the match mattered now: Hertha had already won 1:0 at VfL Bochum, and another three points confirmed that the team has opened the campaign with maximum points. For 1. FC Heidenheim, which had begun with a 4:3 win against VfL Osnabrück, the trip ended with a first loss that arrived fast and left little room for recovery.
The scoring told the story of the first hour. Sebastian Grönning struck in the 2nd minute, Marten Winkler added the second in the 26th, and Deyovaisio Zeefuik made it 3:0 in the 35th. By then Hertha had already done the hard part, not just by finishing its chances but by setting a pace Heidenheim could not match before the interval.
Heidenheim did briefly push back after the break when Jan Schöppner scored in the 49th minute. That goal cut the margin, but it did not change the shape of the match. Hertha still controlled the result, and even a late red card for Zeefuik in the 88th minute after a foul did not stop the home side from finishing strongly.
Oluwaseun Adewumi then added a fourth in the 90th minute while Hertha were down to ten men, a detail that underlined how complete the win was. It also made Zeefuik’s afternoon unusual: he had already scored, then left the field after the foul, and his team still found one more goal without him.
The wider context is simple enough. Hertha went into the season after numerous departures, yet the early results have not reflected any drop in edge. The clean run through two matches is the clearest sign so far that the squad has settled faster than expected, while Heidenheim, a Bundesliga relegated team, will now have to respond after being exposed by a side that was sharper from the opening whistle.
For Hertha, the next test is less about the scoreline than about whether this start can hold once the first burst of the season fades. Two wins do not define a campaign, but they do buy time, confidence and a place near the top of the early table.
