1. FC Union Berlin suffered a first home defeat of the season, losing 3-1 to Paderborn at the Stadion An der Alten Försterei.
Christopher Antwi-Adjei struck four minutes before half-time to give Steffen Baumgart's team the lead on his return to Köpenick — the Paderborn head coach played for Union between 2002 and 2004, scoring 21 goals in the 2.Bundesliga and winning 'Unioner des Jahres' on two occasions.
Though Union pushed for the equaliser after the restatz, Sven Michel added a second for Paderborn on the break with three minutes of the game to play. In stoppage time, Philipp Klement made it a three-goal advantage, but substitute Sebastian Polter marked his return by scoring a consolation.
1. FC Union Berlin: Gikiewicz; Trimmel (Polter 73), Hübner, Friedrich, Lenz; Prömel, Schmiedebach (Gogia 59), Zulj; Mane (Hartel 59), Abdullahi, Andersson
Just Sebastian Andersson spent the last week with his national team, giving the squad a couple of days to rest and recharge over the weekend. Fischer made four changes to the team which lost the previous week in Heidenheim: Christopher Lenz, Grischa Prömel, Carlos Mane and Suleiman Abdullahi were given the nod ahead of Ken Reichel, Felix Kroos, Marcel Hartel and Akaki Gogia. Back in the squad after a foot injury, Sebastian Polter returned to the matchday squad with a spot on te bench. Abdullahi and Andersson combined to great effect in the first minute, but Mane’s shot landed in the side-netting. Robert Zulj challenged Leopold Zingerle, mostly from distance, but the Paderborn goalkeeper was alert to keep out an excellent, dipping volley from 25 yards out. Rafal Gikiewicz was similarly sharp to deny Sven Michel, the Paderborn striker running through on goal and missing. With 22 goals in the Rückrunde, Baumgart’s team made life hard for the Union rearguard, and at the other end, Andersson occupied both central defenders well. However it was Paderborn, who managed to break the deadlock, four minutes before half time — Antwi-Adjei driving through the middle of the pitch and firing low into the bottom corner.
After sticking with the same XI, Union worked the ball better into dangerous areas. Andersson’s header on 48 minutes was a couple of inches away from nestling in the corner. Paderborn, meanwhile, carried their first-half attacking threat into the second period, with Ben Zolinski passing up two one-vs-one situations in the space of five minutes. Fischer turned to his bench on the hour mark, on the search for some attacking impetus — Gogia and Hartel were introduced in place of Mane and Manuel Schmiedebach. Although Gogia looked to make things happen on the wing, the Paderborn backline remained solid. Perhaps Union’s best chance of the second half, Zulj’s 25-yard free kick went narrowly wide of Zingerle’s goal with five minutes to play. On the counter, Michel punished slack defending, prodding the ball past the out-rushing Gikiewicz. His team-mate Klement weaved into space and finished off from a tight angle in the second minute of stoppage time. A small positive for the 20,000 Union supporters at the Stadion An der Alten Försterei was the ahead-of-schedule return of Polter — he was given his chance with 17 minutes left — and his consolation goal in the third minute of injury time from close-range.
Next Sunday, April 7, Union are on their travels with an away match at SG Dynamo Dresden at 13:30.
Union Berlin host Paderborn & Steffen Baumgart
Match preview
After the international break for Euro 2020 qualifiers, 1. FC Union Berlin will return to action at the Stadion An der Alten Försterei on Saturday March 30, with SC Paderborn the guests for the 27th 2.Bundesliga match of the season.
Particularly special about the weekend’s sold-out match is the return of Paderborn coach Steffen Baumgart, who has a strong connection to Union having scored 21 goals in the 2.Bundesliga between 2002 and 2004.
Review: Frustration in Heidenheim, Paderborn back to winning form
Urs Fischer’s team were left disappointed a fortnight ago following the 2-1 loss at 1. FC Heidenheim — despite the Berliners controlling the first 45 minutes. However, Union made the most of the free weekend and are back in good spirits for the return of league football. “We are certainly looking forward to the game. It was good that the players could switch off over two or three days. They have trained really well this week,” the Union coach said in the pre-match press conference.
In midweek, however, Union Berlin made the trip to Rot-Weiß Erfurt and exercised their weight on the Regionalliga Nordost club. Suleiman Abdullahi bagged a first-half hat trick to put the game beyond doubt, but Fischer was equally satisfied by the intent of his side. “The friendly was really important. I wanted a very controlled appearance there. Important for me that we took is very seriously. We did that. When you take the games seriously and score three goals, it gives us a good feeling. It was an important game for Suleiman,“ he added.
Baumgart’s Paderborn lead the Rückrunde table with an impressive 16 points from nine matches and a superior goal difference. In the process, Paderborn have scored 22 goals — the best rate in the 2.Bundesliga. A 3-1 win over Ingolstadt before the break brought a winning feeling back to his side after two successive defeats — to Erzgebirge Aue & FC St. Pauli — and a draw in Magdeburg.
Record: Ostwestfalen club feel at home in Berlin
Paderborn are currently on a three-game unbeaten streak at the Stadion An der Alten Försterei. Their last visit to Köpenick saw them come away with a 2-0 win in October 2015, and they won and drew on their two previous trips to the capital. Union’s last home win over Paderborn came in August 2011 — a 3-0 triumph with goals from Christian Stuff and Christopher Quiring, who netted a double.
Personnel: Prömel returns
After he served a one-match suspension through our defeat at 1. FC Heidenheim, Grischa Prömel will be available for selection again. Fabain Schönheim and Eroll Zejnullahu are the only two players struggling for fitness this week. Meanwhile, the coach opened the door for Sebastian Polter to make a surprise return following his recovery from a foot problem.
“Polter has stepped up training in the week,” confirmed Fischer. “He has given everything. He has competed in duels, shot lots, everything. We have a final training session where you never know what can happen. Things happen quickly. We’ll see.“
Service: No home tickets left
The club can confirm that all home sections of the stadium are completely sold out. The secondary ticket market is open for those who are still interested in purchasing any available tickets. Paderborn are expected to bring around 1,000 supporters to Berlin and tickets can still be bought for the away section. Saturday's kick-off time is 13:00 in Berlin.
