We've done it! 1. FC Union Berlin secured their place in the Bundesliga for another season with a 1-0 win over Paderborn at the Stadion An der Alten Försterei.
Ben Zolinski's own goal after 37 minutes decided the three points, which puts Union into an unassailable 10-point lead above the relegation positions.
Paderborn – coached by former Union striker Steffen Baumgart – were officially relegated on the night and will head back to the 2.Bundesliga.
Robert Andrich for Yunus Malli was the only change to Urs Fischer's starting XI from Sunday's much-needed away win at 1. FC Köln. Given Union's last five league games at the Stadion An der Alten Försterei have ended without a win, Fischer's team needed to make an impact early on. From the start, the Köpenick club were sharp, purposeful and carried a cutting-edge in the last third. Paderborn goalkeeper Leo Zingerle did enough to keep the bottom-placed side in contention despite Union's early dominance. After two minutes, Sebastian Andersson shot straight at the keeper and Grischa Prömel added another shot on target in the eighth minute. On 13 minutes, Union's best chance arrived when Ken Reichel ran beyond Andersson to cause the away defence issues. Reichel's first shot was parried straight back at him from Zingerle, but the Berlin-born full-back failed at the second attempt. Eventually, Zingerle was helpless to keep Steffen Baumgart's side on level terms – Trimmel's set-piece from deep invited a delicate touch from Zolinski and the ball landed into the bottom corner with eight minutes left until the turnaround.
Baumgart's Paderborn have stayed true to their all-action, high-tempo style of football, which successfully secured promotion to the Bundesliga last season. After setting up the goal at one end, Trimmel showed his defensive experience, cutting out a dangerous situation in the 58th minute. Marlon Ritter's pass split the Union central defenders and let Zolinski through on goal, but the Austrian skipper timed his intervention to perfection. Fischer's team did more without the ball than in possession until around the hour mark when Union regained a foothold. A passing move set up Andrich from 12 yards out but the midfielder struck against the inside of the post after 72 minutes. Zingerle couldn't gather the loose ball but Andersson managed only to hit the side-netting. The visitors flooded the home box without forcing Gikiewicz into any important saves. Union should have added shine to the achievement but Marcus Ingvartsen missed in the fourth minute stoppage time. In the end, the Köpenick club completed the job – Union will compete in the Bundesliga next season!
Union host Paderborn in Bundesliga six-pointer
Match preview
On Tuesday night at 20:30, 1. FC Union Berlin will take on SC Paderborn at the Stadion An der Alten Försterei and will look to take a step closer to securing next season's spot in the Bundesliga.
Review
Urs Fischer's team took a giant step away from the bottom three with a 2-1 win at 1. FC Köln on Sunday. The Köpenick club's fourth Bundesliga win on the road was secured with goals from Marvin Friedrich and Christian Gentner. Union's vice-captain headed in the opener after 39 minutes from Christopher Trimmel's corner kick. Markus Gisdol's men rallied after the interval at the Rhein-Energie-Stadion and put Rafal Gikiewicz's goal under pressure in the second half. But Marius Bülter's hopeful cross was brilliantly controlled by Gentner who smashed home his second Bundesliga goal of the campaign. Cologne's Jhon Cordoba poked in a consolation in stoppage time, but the visitors held on for an important three points.
Meanwhile, bottom-placed Paderborn could see their relegation confirmed at the Alte Försterei on Tuesday. Promoted automatically in second place last season, Paderborn are coached by former Union striker Steffen Baumgart who scored 22 goals in Köpenick. His plucky side went down 1-5 at home to Werder Bremen at the Benteler-Arena and saw their gap to safety extended to eight points. Abdelhamid Sabiri scored after 67 minutes but Bremen were four goals in front at this point with a double from Davy Klaassen, one from Maxi Eggestein and Yuya Osako. Niklas Füllkrug returned from long-term injury to score the fifth in stoppage time.
Record
Marcus Ingvartsen's goal secured a point at the Benteler-Arena in the reverse fixture back in December with Kai Pröger scoring for Steffen Baumgart's team. Last season in the 2.Bundesliga, Paderborn's 3-1 win in Köpenick proved pivotal in securing their automatic promotion to the top flight. Christopher Antwi-Adjej, Sven Michel and Philipp Klement scored the goals to succumb Urs Fischer's side to a rare defeat in last term's promotion-winning campaign.
Personnel
Urs Fischer described left-back Christopher Lenz as a big question mark, but confirmed he was all-but out of tomorrow's game at the Alte Försterei. Sheraldo Becker has trained with the squad and is an option for the matchday squad. Laurenz Dehl and Akaki Gogia are step-by-step returning towards match fitness.
"Sunday's three points were very important. If you look at the table now, you can see just how important they are. The team was great. They deserved it. Credit to them. But that's gone now. The next challenge is Paderborn, who are a difficult team to play. The home games, as the table has developed, mean a huge amount. It was important that we held our nerve, regenerated in Bad Saarow and get ready with a bounce game. The conditions were excellent. We had only two days to get ourselves ready after Sunday," said Urs Fischer at the pre-match press conference.
Service
Tuesday's Bundesliga match is behind closed doors.
Sky Sports will broadcast the game in Germany, while rights holders BT Sport and Fox Sports will broadcast in the United Kingdom and United States.
