Leo Scienza struck a dramatic 95th-minute winner as Heidenheim retained their place in the Bundesliga with a 4-3 aggregate success over Elversberg in the relegation play-off.
Having recovered from two goals down to draw 2-2 in the first leg at home last week, Heidenheim went ahead for the first time in the tie nine minutes into Monday's rematch.
Mathias Honsak broke in behind to finish past Nicolas Kristof and silence the home supporters at the Waldstadion an der Kaiserlinde, though Elversberg equalised just after the half-hour mark.
Captain Robin Fellhauer beat Kevin Muller with a neat finish to level the tie at 1-1 on the night and 3-3 on aggregate, as Elversberg made their dominance of possession count.
That pattern continued after the interval as Elversberg's Fisnik Asllani had a goal ruled out for an offside against Lukas Petkov in the build-up in the 47th minute.
However, Heidenheim continued to threaten on the counter-attack and Scienza broke Elversberg hearts with extra time looming, cutting inside from the left then steering a reverse finish into the top-left corner.
90+6. Min.: JAAAAAAAAAA! WIR SPIELEN NÄCHSTES JAHR BUNDESLIGA!
— 1. FC Heidenheim 1846 e. V. (@FCH1846) May 26, 2025
#NurDerFCH #ELVFCH | @mhp_de pic.twitter.com/d3BmqK54nu
Data Debrief: Elversberg fail to buck the trend
Elversberg will be kicking themselves at having lost this tie, having led 2-0 on the road last week and controlled the second leg for long periods, enjoying 64.9% possession and tallying 549 passes to their opponents' 289.
But thanks to Scienza's late sucker punch, they became the latest in a long line of third-placed finishers from the 2. Bundesliga to miss out on promotion.
In the last 12 seasons, the relegation play-off has been won by the Bundesliga side on 11 occasions, with only Stuttgart bucking the trend with their 2019 win over Union Berlin.
When drawing the first leg of a Bundesliga relegation play-off tie, top-flight sides have now won five times in six attempts since the format was reintroduced in 2008-09.
Heidenheim's victory caps a great escape, as they had been in grave danger of automatic relegation before a late-season upturn. They only lost one of their last six games of 2024-25, winning three and drawing two, having lost each of their previous three.