Despite leading twice, Union Berlin were held to a disappointing 2-2 draw at home to SSV Jahn Regensburg. Felix Kroos and Philipp Hosiner looked to have fired the Köpenick club to a home win, but a late penalty from Marvin Knoll snatched two extra points away from the grasp of Andre Hofschneider’s side.
What we have seen in recent weeks is that Union Berlin can start extremely strongly. This week was similar on a freshly-laid surface at the Stadion An der Alten Försterei with the Regensburg keeper protecting his goal well. On 17 minutes, Christopher Trimmel’s corner kick was met by Marc Torrejon but Pentke rose sharp to the task and touched the ball on to the crossbar.
Even though Regensburg were arguably the better side towards the end of the first 45, Felix Kroos chimed in with the opener, tucking the ball home from the edge of the box. Steven Skrzybski should have scored either of his two clear chances in the box, but instead Regensburg hit back at the other end with Marco Grüttner firing home from a tight angle on the hour mark.
The hosts showed excellent character to respond so swiftly with Hosiner hooking the ball home on 64 minutes to restore Union’s lead. But Hofschneider’s team dropped back and deeper as the game went on and after missing a bunch of chances, Regensburg earned their just rewards. Kristian Pedersen was caught by surprise in the final minutes and referee Winkmann pointed straight to the spot after a foul. Marvin Knoll stepped up under pressure to ensure a share of the spoils for the visitors.
"We are naturally disappointed with the result. But I am also proud of my team, because the last weeks were not easy in our situation. Running and fighting, we have solved this well today. These are good attributes that show that the team works together. If we only play 2:2 after such a match, of course the disappointment remains. Now we have two weeks in which some of the injured may return to help us after the international break," said the coach post-match.
The upcoming international break puts league football on the back-burner for a fortnight. In the meantime, Union Berlin will host Bundesliga club VfL Wolfsburg in a friendly at the Stadion An der Alten Försterei on Thursday March 22 with kick off at 18:30. On Monday, a further match will be confirmed. The next league outing is in the south of Germany against Greuther Fürth on Sunday April 1 at 13:30.
Union welcome Jahn Regensburg to the Alte Försterei
Match preview
Union Berlin is back in action at the Stadion An der Alten Försterei on Saturday March 17 for the second part of a home double header. SSV Jahn Regensburg are the visitors, a side that Union dispatched of 2-0 on the road earlier in the season.
Andre Hofschneider’s men will hope to put the draw to Erzgebirge Aue behind them and seize the momentum of a new playing surface in Köpenick. The head coach and his training staff are delighted with the grass laid down over the past week after some difficulties in recent matches. It should, he explained, allow Union to maximise its possession-based game on the weekend.
It’s the second home game in succession following defeat again on the road in Kaiserslautern. Remarkably, Union’s last victory away from Berlin was against Regensburg in the middle of October. The Köpenick side have won five from eight meetings with Regensburg, but the opponents have shown their quality enough times this season. “Regensburg are currently on a run,” said the coach.
“The team from Regensburg plays many long balls, often going into duels,” said Hofschneider, who has worked on a number of different tactics in training this week to counter the strengths of the opposition. “They quickly bridge the space in midfield and try to keep the danger far away from their own goal. For us it is a game we want to win and we have the opportunity to win. But we also know that nothing is given to us. We're facing a strong opponent who has nothing to lose here."
There is little change on the selection front for Hofschneider with Michael Parensen, Sebastian Polter Fabian Schönheim and Kenny-Prince Redondo out injured. Simon Hedlund has trained a couple of times this week, but his fitness situation is still not clear.
There are still places available for the meeting in the home block as well as in the away section. The stadium gates are open at 11:30 – 90 minutes before kick off on Saturday.
