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Borussia Dortmund vs 1. FC Union Berlin
German DFB Pokal, Round 2
Dortmund vs 1. FC Union
German DFB Pokal, Round 2
Wed., 31. October 2018, 18:30 Uhr
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Union Berlin lose to Borussia Dortmund in extra time
Match report
Sebastian Polter equalised twice at the Westfalenstadion as 1. FC Union Berlin went down agonisingly in the final minutes of extra-time against Bundesliga leaders Borussia Dortmund.
Union Berlin were within minutes of taking Borussia Dortmund to penalties but Marco Reus scored from 12 yards in the 120th minute as defender Marvin Friedrich was shown his marching orders. Christian Pulisic and Maximilian Philipp scored for the home side, who were pegged back on two occasions inside the 90 minutes by strikes from substitute Polter. A determined and resilient performance from Union wasn't to be rewarded and Urs Fischer's men suffer their first taste of defeat this season.
Borussia Dortmund: Hitz; Hakimi, Diallo (Guerreiro 14), Toprak, Zagadou; Weigl, Dahoud (Witsel 86); Pulisic, Kagawa (Reus 79), Wolf (Sancho 91); Philipp
1. FC Union Berlin: Gikiewicz; Trimmel, Hübner, Friedrich, Lenz (Reichel 105); Schmiedebach, Prömel, Zulj; Hartel (Hedlund 75), Andersson (Polter 61), Redondo (Abdullahi 61)
Attendance: 72,732
For Union Berlin to topple the strongest team in German football at the moment, Urs Fischer predicted that his side would need to have a very good day, while Dortmund have a poor evening. There was no sign of the latter in the early stages as Dortmund peppered the Union box from the right-hand side after the 10-minute mark. The home side lost centre-back Abdou Diallo to injury, the former Mainz defender being replaced by Raphael Guerreiro after 14 minutes. Midway through the half, Union made it uncomfortable for Lucien Favre’s side. Marwin Hitz parried wide a free-kick from Zulj before Lenz’s driven effort was touched wide for a corner kick. From the following corner kick, Hitz did superbly to gather cleanly Hübner’s goal-bound header with a number of Union players ready to pounce on any potential rebound.
However, Dortmund opened the scoring five minutes before the break — Union’s defence failed to deal with Mo Dahoud’s cross and Pulisic slid home to score. Minutes later, Redondo won the loose ball on the edge of the area and his left-foot volley cannoned against the Dortmund crossbar.
After the second half resumes, Dortmund see the better of the chances in attack, with substitute Guerreiro lashing a big opportunity over the bar from close range. Fischer twisted on the hour mark, introducing Polter and Suleiman Abdullahi in place of Sebastian Andersson and Redondo. Union drew level inside four minutes — Polter taking in a great through ball from Zulj before prodding the ball past Hitz and into the net. The Berliners kept the scores level for another 10 minutes until Philipp blasted into the corner from inside the box on the 73rd minute mark.
There was further drama — inspired by an equally outstanding display from 8,000 travelling Union fans — when Zulj dribbled into space and picked out Polter inside the box. The striker made absolutely no mistake with a well-placed, composed header into the far corner to take the game beyond the 90 minutes.
The Berliners leaped into action early on with Abdullahi’s speed and directness creating a great chance for Simon Hedlund. However, the Swede was matched by an impressive block from Hitz. Union coach Fischer used his fourth sub in extra time with Ken Reichel taking the place of Christopher Lenz after 105 minutes. Despite Union’s best efforts to see the half out, Dortmund’s offensive power was too much to contain. Friedrich tugged Pulisic in the final minute with Winkmann showng the central defender his second yellow card in the 118th minute. Reus stepped up from the spot and fired past Rafal Gikiewicz to knock Union Berlin out of the German Cup at the second round stage for the third year running.
Union Berlin in Cup action against Borussia Dortmund
Match preview
1. FC Union Berlin head to the Westfalenstadion on Wednesday October 31 (18:30) to face Bundesliga leaders Borussia Dortmund in the second round of the DFB Pokal, Germany’s national cup competition.
Review: Stalemate against Dynamo, Dortmund held
Urs Fischer’s team maintained their unbeaten record in all competitions this season after a 0-0 draw at home to Dynamo Dresden at the Stadion An der Alten Försterei. The Köpenick club had a man advantage for more than an hour but couldn’t break through a resilient Dresden defence on Sunday. Though Union have drawn their last three matches, Fischer’s team are still in close contention at the top of the table, sitting third and two points off 1. FC Köln and Hamburg. The Berliners blazed past Carl-Zeiss Jena in the first round of the German Cup and reached the second round last term, losing to Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen on the road.
Meanwhile, Borussia Dortmund missed out on three points on Saturday, drawing 2-2 with Hertha Berlin. Lucien Favre’s team are one of the in-form sides in European football at the minute, smashing Atletico Madrid 4-0 and establishing themselves at the top of the Bundesliga after nine games. In the shape of 18-year-old English starlet Jadon Sancho, Marco Reus and American international Christian Pulisic, the four-time German Cup winners will be looking to improve on last year’s run to the Round of 16.
Record: 2001 final, classic Dortmund meeting
The 2000-01 season stands out for fans of 1. FC Union Berlin for the club’s incredible run in the German Cup. The Köpenick club went past Oberhausen, Greuther Fürth, Ulm, Bochum and Borussia Mönchengladbach before losing to Schalke in the final at the Olympic Stadium in the capital. Since then, from 14 attempts, the club have lost in the first round on seven occasions and five in the second round.
Borussia Dortmund and Union met in the second round in 2016/17 with the visitors putting in an admirable performance at the Westfalenstadion. Steven Skrzybski levelled after coming off the bench to take the game into extra time, but the Bundesliga side came out on top with a 3-0 win on penalties.
Personnel: Kroos injured, Torrejon on his way back
Fischer confirmed at the pre-match press conference in Berlin that Felix Kroos sustained an injury against Dynamo Dresden and will miss the second round clash. Marc Torrejon is making good strides on his way back from injury, but the game will come too quickly for the central defender. Fischer described Dortmund as “clear favourites” but believes there’s always a chance for the Berliners, if the Bundesliga side have a bad day and Union have a very good day.
Info: Tickets available on Wednesday
With around 7,500 Union supporters expected already at the Westfalenstadion, another 600 tickets will be available at the gates for those who turn up on the night. Fans will be shuttled to Dortmund from Berlin with two special fan trains organised by V.I.R.U.S — one of the club’s fan groups.
Local police have asked that Union fans arrive for the start of the game. The stadium is open about two-and-a-half hours before the 18:30 kick-off. Further information can be found in this letter, which is unfortunately only available in German.
