Goals from Sebastian Andersson and Akaki Gogia fired 1. FC Union Berlin to a 2-0 victory over SV Sandhausen at the Stadion An der Alten Försterei.
The Swede headed in the opener after 11 minutes, but Köpenick club were forced to be patient in the hunt for a second goal after the restart. Eventually, with three minutes left, Gogia finished off a super counter-attack, led by substitute Joshua Mees.
Union Berlin move up into third place in the 2.Bundesliga ahead of FC St. Pauli on goal difference and two points behind 1. FC Köln.
1. FC Union Berlin: Gikiewicz; Trimmel, Hübner, Friedrich, Reichel; Rapp (Zulj 70), Prömel, Kroos; Abdullahi (Gogia 66), Andersson, Mane (Mees 77)
Urs Fischer’s side returned to their own patch following Monday’s exertions in Hamburg. Manuel Schmiedebach incurred a suspension in St. Pauli and was replaced in the starting team by Nicolai Rapp, who joined from FC Erzgebirge Aue last month. Ken Reichel and Christopher Trimmel took over the full-back positions once again, whilst Suleiman Abdullahi returned to the side. Sandhausen goalkeeper Marcel Schuhen had little time to settle into the game with Union starting with intent. The away goalie palmed a header from Andersson over the bar in the second minute. Though the game was interrupted for three minutes as Abdullahi underwent treatment, Union kept going and scored after 11 minutes. Marvin Friedrich’s header from a set-play was well saved by Schuhen but Andersson came in late to nod in the rebound. Felix Kroos netted shortly afterwards but his goal was ruled out for offside. At times in the first half, Fischer’s side played some superb football. Carlos Mane in particular lit up the game with some outstanding touches and dynamic dribbles. Union had the opportunities to make the points safe but failed to add a second before the break.
Uwe Koschinat’s Sandhausen returned better for the experience of the first half. The away side played deeper and were more compact in midfield. Union struggled to create, while Sandhausen grew in bravery to take more risks in attacking situations. Dennis Diekmeier put a goal on a plate after the hour mark for Fabian Schleusener but the Sandhausen front man lost his footing in front of goal. Fischer turned to his bench and introduced Gogia, Mees and Robert Zulj within a 10-minute period as Union looked to regain control of a difficult encounter. With three minutes to play, Mees launched a rapid counter-attack, driving through the heart of the Sandhausen defence before Gogia finished off to seal the three points.
Union Berlin coach Fischer said post-match: "Sometimes you just have to say: The main thing is that we got the three points. We've already had some good performances; I'm thinking of the situation with Andersson and Abdullahi, where we'd have to lead higher at half time. The longer the game goes: 1-0 is a tight result, and so the tighter it gets. Sandhausen got better in the second half, then we struggled until the 88th minute when the second goal came."
Union Berlin play host to Sandhausen
Match preview
1. FC Union Berlin return to the Stadion An der Alten Försterei on Saturday February 9 for a home 2.Bundesliga game against SV Sandhausen at 13:00.
Urs Fischer’s side went down on Monday at FC St. Pauli and will be out to build on their current unbeaten home record this season.
Review: Union go down in Hamburg, Sandhausen on form
Union had lots to ponder following Monday's defeat and the coaching team got back to work on Tuesday afternoon to analyse proceedings. Goals from Grischa Prömel and Suleiman Abdullahi gave the away side a fighting chance to pegging St. Pauli back, but Alexander Meier scored his second of the night in a last-gasp penalty kick.
“It certainly won’t be any easier than against St. Pauli or Cologne,” started the Union coach. “My colleague in Sandhausen has said so accordingly, that it isn’t style which has the priority but rather commitment, aggression and fighting spirit. They want to get points so we have to counter that and find solutions against a side which sits very compact and doesn’t allow much space.”
Though in 16th position, Sandhausen are actually enjoying one of their best periods of the season under head coach Uwe Koschinat. His team ended the Hinrunde with three consecutive draws and have added three points to their tally with a 3-0 win over Bochum last week. Their first game of 2019 was a closely-fought match in Hamburg, where Sandhausen went down 2-1.
Record:
1. FC Union Berlin hold the upper hand in 2.Bundesliga encounters — the Köpenick club have won all six league meetings at home so far. Last season, Steven Skrzybski and Kristian Pedersen scored inside the first 20 minutes to get ahead. Sandhausen held out for 0-0 on Union's last trip to the south-west of Germany. Sandhausen are waiting since the seventh week of the season to win, where they lost at FC Erzgebirge Aue.
Personnel:
Manuel Schmiedebach’s fifth yellow card of the season in Hamburg has ruled him out of action this weekend. The absence of the Union defensive midfielder opens up possible opportunities for the likes of Michael Parensen, Nicolai Rapp or Julian Ryerson. Sebastian Polter is on the sidelines after injuring the metatarsal on his left foot, whilst Robert Zulj has recovered from an issue and trained without problems on Thursday.
Tickets:
Union Berlin are still selling tickets for Saturday’s match. They can be found on the website here. The club expects Sandhausen to bring around 40 supporters to the capital in 48 hours’ time.
