Report: Union come back to draw at home to Heidenheim
Match report
Super-sub Kenny Prince Redondo scored his first league goal in almost 12 months to earn 1. FC Union Berlin a point against 1. FC Heidenheim at the Stadion An der Alten Försterei.
The 23-year-old headed home Philipp Hosiner’s cross in the 74th minute to cancel out a shock opener from Heidenheim’s Nikola Dovedan on 58 minutes and extend Union's solid home run to six matches without defeat in the 2.Bundesliga.
Head coach Andre Hofschneider was forced into his only change from last week’s 1-0 win at FC St Pauli. Marvin Friedrich was shown a second yellow card and incurred an automatic suspension for Saturday’s game, with Peter Kurzweg standing in and the Köpenick club returning to a back four. Grischa Prömel’s injury meant he was ruled out, while Daniel Mesenhöler continued between the sticks ahead of the injured Jakob Busk. A note of good news for Hofschneider was the return of Michael Parensen who took his place on the bench.
After a brave start from Heidenheim, Marc Schnatterer’s injury in the seventh minute brought the match to a halt. Add that to further stoppages in the middle of the park, and a water break in the 30th minute, and neither side could piece together a threatening period of pressure. Union Berlin came to life on 24 minutes, when Simon Hedlund swivelled into the left-channel of the box and fired his effort wide of Kevin Müller’s post. The Heidenheim keeper was kept busy until the 30th minute when Kristian Pedersen’s tame header was easily gathered.
Unchanged at the half-time break, Union returned with energy and intent. Stephan Fürstner’s cross from the right was almost pinpoint for Kurzweg, a few yards from goal. Akaki Gogia replaced Dennis Daube in the 57th minute, but in the 60 seconds that followed, Heidenheim broke clear on the counter-attack and Austrian striker Dovedan finished his fifth goal of the season. As the match entered the final 20 minutes, Hofschneider mixed things up in the final third of the field with a double change - Hosiner and Redondo taking the place of Fürstner and Kurzweg.
The response was almost immediate: the Austrian striker landed an inch-perfect cross on to Redondo’s head and the attacking-midfielder made no mistake from a few yards out - his first league goal since the 2-1 win at Greuther Fürth on the final day of last season. Two minutes later, Hosiner wriggled clear in the box but shot inches over the crossbar as the home side risked the points in search of the winner in front of the Waldseite. However, the second goal wasn't forthcoming for the Köpenick club who make it three games unbeaten in the league and continue to edge clear of any problems at the bottom-end of the league.
"We’ve seen in the first half, what it looks like when both teams don't want to fall behind. We wanted to play more powerful offensively here at home, but failed to create really clear chances most of the time. Nonetheless, I have to compliment the team. Thinking they had nothing to lose, they showed a great response to the 0:1. The intensity and commitment was there, and how some of the players fight through little aches and pains week in and week out deserves lots of respect", head coach André Hofschneider said in the press conference after the game.
Preview: Union rallies with Heidenheim the visitors
Match preview
“Never give up and believe in yourself” is the motto as 1. FC Union Berlin welcome 1. FC Heidenheim in the 2.Bundesliga on Saturday (21.04.2018, 13:00) to the Stadion An der Alten Försterei.
Together in Red!
Last weekend’s victory over FC St. Pauli has breathed new life into Saturday’s fixture as the Köpenick club aim to push clear of the relegation battle at the bottom of the 2.Bundesliga. Union will be backed by a sea of red as part of our ‘Together in Red’ project – 20,000 plus t-shirts will be distributed to those at the game by a number of Union fan clubs and Szene Köpenick.
“We wouldn't mind if things would continue on the same path after the success at St. Pauli. But the game is behind us. Now we have Heidenheim in front of us and it's about winning at home and getting the three points,” said Union head coach Andre Hofschneider at the pre-match press conference.
Our opponents from Heidenheim shocked the league-leaders Fortuna Düsseldorf at home on Sunday, with a 3-1 triumph, which took Frank Schmidt’s team out of the relegation zone and up to 13th in the table. Kaiserslautern, Darmstadt and St. Pauli are now occupying the relegation spots. Hofschneider’s men are three clear of Heidenheim in ninth and could even push into the top six with three points on home turf.
“Heidenheim plays, similar to Jahn Regensburg, with many long balls, and everyone having to work to win the second balls and gain the upper hand. There are arguments for both systems, but we still have two days to go. We currently have a good squad at our disposal, so there are many options. It's largely up to us what kind of atmosphere we can create at home.”
One midfielder drops out, one returns
Hofschneider confirmed on Thursday that Grischa Prömel missed training and won't recover in time to be considered for the weekend. With Danish keeper Jakob Busk injured, Daniel Mesenhöler will continue between the sticks after his clean sheet on Saturday in Hamburg. The number one from the U19s Lennart Moser will take his place on the bench. Michael Parensen could be involved on Saturday having trained well this week, giving the coach a number of different possibilities tactically.
Fabian Schönheim and Sebastian Polter are still on the sidelines, while Marvin Friedrich is suspended following his dismissal at St. Pauli.
Extra tickets on sale for home fans
There’s still an opportunity for Union supporters to snap up tickets for the Stadion An der Alten Försterei this weekend. More than 1,500 briefs were returned from Heidenheim’s away allocation. Tickets can be purchased from the usual channels online or from the Union club shops at the ground or in Köpenick.
