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SC Freiburg vs 1. FC Union Berlin
German DFB Pokal, Round 2
Freiburg vs 1. FC Union
German DFB Pokal, Round 2
Tue., 29. October 2019, 18:30 Uhr
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Late goals fire Union to 3-1 win in Freiburg
Match report
1. FC Union Berlin struck two late goals to beat SC Freiburg 3-1 and progress to the third round of the DFB Pokal.
Robert Andrich's wonderful right-foot finish looked to have secured the spoils for the Köpenick club on 87 minutes and it was confirmed by Christian Gentner's goal, two minutes into stoppage time.
Joshua Mees opened the scoring on 36 minutes for Urs Fischer's team – a goal which was cancelled out in first-half stoppage time by Freiburg's Robin Koch.
Freiburg: Flekken; Schlotterbeck, Koch, Heintz (Lienhart 76); Günter, Frantz, Haberer, Schmid; Petersen, Grifo, Sallai (Höler 62)
1. FC Union Berlin: Gikiewicz; Parensen (Rapp 14), Friedrich, Schlotterbeck; Ryerson, Schmiedebach (Gentner 77), Andrich, Lenz; Ingvartsen, Ujah, Mees (Bülter 88)
There were six changes to Union's team from the taxing 90 minutes at the Allianz Arena on Saturday. Fischer restored his players to a 3-4-3 formation, which saw Michael Parensen return in place of Neven Subotic. Captain Christopher Trimmel, Felix Kroos, Gentner, Bülter and Sebastian Andersson were given time off, with Julian Ryerson, Manuel Schmiedebach, Keven Schlotterbeck, Mees and Anthony Ujah starting. On the other side, Christian Streich used the opportunity to rotate his squad with five changes from the 2-1 win over RB Leipzig at the weekend. The most notable absence was Germany U21 international Luca Waldschmidt, a change forced by a foot injury.
The Köpenick club didn't quite dominate the tempo like the recent league meeting at the Stadion An der Alten Försterei when Bülter fired a screamer in after 60 seconds. Freiburg asserted themselves on home turf and hit the post after eight minutes – a header from Nico Schlotterbeck, which clipped the bottom of the woodwork. Two minutes after Mees tested Mark Flekken from distance, Fischer was forced into a change with Parensen unable to continue following a knock on his back. Thankfully for the Swiss coach, Nicolai Rapp stepped in and the formation remained unchanged. In attack, Ujah was handed big shoes to fill in place of Andersson, but the Nigerian was influential in giving Union an outball and ball security in attacking areas. On 33 minutes, Ujah cushioned a high ball out wide to Ryerson, the Norwegian crossing into the mixer. A deflection saw the ball come out as far as Andrich, but the midfielder's drive was pushed away by Flekken. Ujah turned on the style three minutes later, sending in a superb delivery for Mees to head home the opener. However, the first period ended on a damp note for Fischer's team as Koch rose highest to bring Freiburg back on level terms.
The third-placed team in the Bundesliga threatened into the second 45, but didn't convert good periods of possession into dangerous chances. As the home players struggled for new ideas, the match turned somewhat scrappy around the hour mark. Schmiedebach's risk of a second caution was enough to force Fischer into the change on 77 minutes which saw Gentner arrive on the field. The former Stuttgart midfielder would play a huge part in the dramatic finale as Union snapped ruthlessly on to two mistake from the home side to book their place in the third round. On 87 minutes, Andrich picked up the ball on the edge of the area and somehow thrashed the ball from a difficult angle into Flekken's bottom corner. Bülter was introduced with a minute-or-so to go and the winger pick-pocketed Schlotterbeck with Gentner finishing off a lethal counter-attack in the second minute of stoppage time.
1. FC Union Berlin will find out their third round opponents on Sunday evening. But 24 hours earlier, there is the small matter of the home match against Hertha BSC in Köpenick. Tickets are sold out for the Saturday 18:30 kick-off.
Full match report to follow.
Union meet SC Freiburg in the German Cup
Match preview
The games are coming thick and fast for 1. FC Union Berlin, with Urs Fischer's side heading to SC Freiburg for Tuesday night's 18:30 second round DFB Pokal clash.
Cup Review: Union thump Halberstadt, Freiburg go through in Magdeburg
Back in August, Union Berlin warmed up for the Bundesliga opener with a 6-0 win at fourth-tier Germania Halberstadt. Fischer watched on as six different players scored – Keven Schlotterbeck, Sebastian Andersson, Anthony Ujah, Robert Andrich, Christopher Lenz and Joshua Mees.
Meanwhile, Christian Streich's Freiburg faced a tougher test at Magdeburg, relegated from the 2.Bundesliga this past season. The match ended 0-0 after 90 minutes, but Freiburg prevailed thanks to Luca Waldschmidt's strike in extra time.
League Review: Polter scores in Bayern defeat, Freiburg beat Leipzig
On Saturday, Union were the visitors to the German champions Bayern Munich for the first competitive meeting between the teams. The Köpenick club were always huge underdogs, but fought hard and restricted Bayern to just a handful of chances. Benjamin Pavard scored early on, but it took Bayern another 40 minutes before Robert Lewandowski found the net. There were chances at the other end: referee Christian Dingert pointed to the spot on two occasions in the second half. Sebastian Andersson's kick was saved by Manuel Neuer, but late in the game, Sebastian Polter converted to score a well-deserved consolation.
Freiburg bounced back from the defeat in Köpenick last week, beating RB Leipzig 2-1 at the Schwarzwald-Stadion. Streich's team turned in another impressive home performance, their fifth win of the season so far. Nicolas Höfler scored on the stroke of half-time before Nils Petersen clinched the points late on. Lukas Klostermann netted for Julian Nagelsmann's men but it proved just a consolation in the end.
Service: 1,500 Union fans in Freiburg
Many supporters will take in both matches on the road this long weekend with more than 1,500 expected in Freiburg. Tickets can be purchased at the stadium on Tuesday for those who wish to attend.
