A couple of second-half goals fired 1. FC Union Berlin to an important victory at the Stadion An der Alten Försterei against FC Augsburg.
After a goalless first half, Neven Subotic scored his first for the club two minutes after the restart. Marcus Ingvartsen added a second to make sure of the points after 61 minutes.
Last weekend, Fischer’s team restarted the Bundesliga campaign at pace-setters RB Leipzig, going down 1-3 to Julian Nagelsmann’s men. The final home encounter before a mammoth series of away trips, Fischer restored captain Christopher Trimmel to the starting line-up after illness. Keven Schlotterbeck slotted in for Michael Parensen, while Anthony Ujah was rewarded for his recent run of goals during the winter break with a start ahead of Marius Bülter. A fine passage from the Köpenick club in the second minute opened up a situation for Marcus Ingvartsen, but the pass was a few inches ahead of the Danish U21 international. Similarly, two minutes later, the build-up came from the left-hand side and Christopher Lenz pulled a shot wide of Koubek’s post. The Augsburg number one would have had little chance in keeping out Marvin Friedrich’s sweetly-struck volley, which went wide on 18 minutes. Lenz took matters into his own hands in the 21st minute, sliding on to his right-foot and striking wide of the far post from the edge of the box. In terms of chances, that was about as good as Fischer’s men could conjure up in the first 45 minutes. Rafal Gikiewicz was likewise quiet at the other end aside from a header from Augsburg striker Florian Niederlechner who was eventually flagged offside.
Quickly after the interval, Union forced their way into the lead. A typically dangerous set play from Trimmel went all the way through to Subotic at the back-post, the big defender finishing with ease. That set the tone for the Köpenick club who stayed on top for the most part. Ujah went through on goal from the left-hand side but a weak shot missed the target. On 61 minutes, Lenz sent a wicked cross into the box, the deflection found Andrich who then picked out Ingvartsen. The attacking-midfielder cooly slotted in his fourth Bundesliga goal of the campaign from around 12 yards out. Union turned to defensive-mode thereafter and prevented Martin Schmidt’s team from breaking through. Schlotterbeck, Christian Gentner, Subotic and Andrich were cautioned by referee Bibiana Steinhaus — midfielder Andrich was later substituted after picking up an injury. Fischer turned to Bülter, Felix Kroos and Julian Ryerson from the bench to see the game out in the final minutes. Union were also aided by terrific goalkeeping from Gikiewicz who continued to demonstrate why he is one of the best number ones in the Bundesliga.
The three points at home set Union up for a busy schedule ahead with three away matches in a row. Next, the Köpenick club make the trip to Borussia Dortmund next Saturday, followed by SC Verl in the DFB Pokal in midweek and then SV Werder Bremen away from home in a fortnight.
First home game in 2020 against Augsburg
Match preview
1. FC Union Berlin will run out at the Stadion An der Alten Försterei for the first league match of 2020 this Saturday (15:30) against FC Augsburg.
Review: Union beaten in Leipzig, Augsburg in eight-goal thriller with BVB
Marius Bülter put away the first league goal of the new decade for 1. FC Union Berlin as Urs Fischer’s team started with a sense of purpose in the Bundesliga. The wide man struck after 10 minutes in Leipzig, but Julian Nagelsmann’s men came out of the blocks in the second half and showed why they are the current pace setters. Timo Werner hit a double to continue his own incredible scoring form, with Marcel Sabitzer putting the hosts ahead in between. A disappointing second half in the end for the 7,000 Union fans in Leipzig, but the Köpenick club left with enough signs of encouragement following the dominant first-half performance.
Meanwhile, Martin Schmidt’s team made an incredible start to the Rückrunde — the second half of the Bundesliga campaign. Augsburg stormed into a two-goal lead through Florian Niederlechner’s goal on 34 minutes and Marco Richter’s strike shortly after the restart. While Julian Brandt pulled one back, Niederlechner’s second restored the advantage with about half an hour to go. Augsburg, in 10th place, were set for a memorable win at the WWK-Arena but then Erling Haaland was given his Bundesliga debut in Dortmund colours. The 19-year-old, who joined from Salzburg in January, scored a hat-trick inside 30 minutes, while Jadon Sancho scored the other, demonstrating Dortmund’s title credentials in spectacular fashion. In the January window, Schmidt has lost Michael Gregoritsch to Schalke but has toughened up his midfield with 22-year-old Eduard Löwen, who signed on loan from Hertha until the end of the season.
Record: Historical stalemate in Berlin
Four of the five league meetings between Augsburg and Union Berlin have ended in draws. Sebastian Andersson bagged the club’s first-ever goal in the Bundesliga in the reverse fixture back in August. In season 2009/10 and 2010/11, the teams drew 0-0 on two occasions at the Stadion An der Alten Försterei.
Personnel: Four confirmed missing
Urs Fischer confirmed some of the fitness issues at the pre-match press conference on Thursday. Andy Gogia, Laurenz Dehl, Joshua Mees and Manuel Schmiedebach are certainly out. Suleiman Abdullahi suffered a setback in training this week, while Sebastian Polter was forced to miss yesterday's session. It's a race against time for the striker but he has a chance. Grischa Prömel is making strides towards full fitness but he needs more time.
Service: ‘Augsburg Re-Call’
As normal, tickets are already long sold out for Saturday’s game in Köpenick. The secondary ticket market is open for club members.
Meanwhile, 1. FC Union Berlin’s foundation “UNION VEREINT. Schulter an Schulter” and the club’s business council will host an event in return for the hospitable treatment in Augsburg back in August. Registration is mandatory for “Augsburg Recall” on Saturday, while a closed-door event will be held the night before in Oberschöneweide, where the roots of 1. FC Union Berlin originally lie.
