Report: Hosiner winner claims three points in Dresden
Match report
Philipp Hosiner's 82nd-minute winner gave 1. FC Union Berlin the final three points of the 2.Bundesliga season against Dynamo Dresden on Sunday.
With little to separate the teams in front of 30,785 supporters, the Austrian striker came off the bench and brought a punch to Andre Hofschneider's front line. Kristian Pedersen assisted with a expertly-weighted cross into the danger zone and Hosiner finished his second goal of the 2.Bundesliga campaign.
Dynamo Dresden XI: Schwäbe; Seguin (Hauptmann 78), Heise, Ballas, Franke; Kreuzer, Konrad; Duljevic (Horvath 69), Benatelli, Mlapa; Kone (Testroet 75)
1. FC Union Berlin XI: Mesenhöler; Trimmel, Leistner, Friedrich, Kurzweg (Pedersen 63); Parensen (Fürstner 83), Prömel; Redondo (Hosiner 62), Gogia, Hartel, Hedlund
The all-important match winner and captain last week against VfL Bochum, Steven Skrzybski dropped out of the squad as a result of a muscle problem sustained from that appearance. Dennis Daube was missing also, with both replaced by Marcel Hartel and Akaki Gogia in Andre Hofschneider's starting eleven. Kenny Prince Redondo continued in an attacking role having contributed to three of Union's last five league goals.
A vociferous atmosphere welcomed Union to Dresden, the home side still locked in a relegation battle at the bottom of the 2.Bundesliga. Hofschneider's men looked to silence that home crowd in the first few minutes when off-the-ball pressure forced a mistake, a loose ball which then landed at Simon Hedlund but his shot was well-saved by keeper Marvin Schwäbe. On 14 minutes, Toni Leistner came close, heading over the crossbar from Christopher Trimmel's corner kick.
Uwe Neuhaus, Union's most successful coach of all-time, leads the way at Dynamo Dresden and his side grew to take over control in the second part of the first half. Rico Benatalli was poised to pull the trigger and likely open the scoring, but the midfielder was thwarted by determined defending from Marvin Friedrich and Leistner. Three minutes later, Philip Heise was played in by Haris Duljevic, but the left-back's rocket shot cannoned only against the crossbar as the half moved to a close.
A mundane start to the final half of the campaign promoted Hofschneider to make a double change with around half an hour to go. Pedersen replaced Peter Kurzweg at left full-back, whilst Hosiner joined the attack in place of Redondo. Daniel Mesenhöler was put under the cosh around the hour mark and pulled off a smart save from substitute Pascal Testroet.
The coach's earlier move paid dividends with Pedersen powering down the left-hand side, firing across the face of goal for the waiting Hosiner to slide home, eight minutes from the end. The victorious Union team, the coaches and the 3,000 supporters celebrated the points at the final whistle with the Köpenick club finishing the campaign in eighth place on 47 points.
Preview: Season finale for Union Berlin in Dresden
Match preview
1. FC Union Berlin are looking to end the 2017/18 campaign on a high note when they head east to Dynamo Dresden on Sunday May 13 (15:30).
Andre Hofschneider’s team claimed a vital three points last weekend at home to VfL Bochum that mathematically secured a place in the 2.Bundesliga for next season. The relegation battle has consumed more than half of the league, including Sunday’s opponents who are two points above the trap door of automatic relegation to the third tier.
Hofschneider, who took charge of the team before the home meeting with Dresden, is a long-time friend of Uwe Neuhaus, the current coach of SGD. Neuhaus is the most successful head coach of the Köpenick club’s history, taking Union from Regionalliga Nord to a stable element of the 2.Bundesliga. Hofschneider was his former student at the Alte Försterei, but insisted the visiting team has a responsibility to turn in the right kind of performance.
“We have a duty to ourselves, but also to sporting integrity and the other clubs. It's a special game for our fans anyway - losing against Dresden once in a season is bad enough. We will do everything we can to ensure that it does not happen a second time,” he said at the pre-match press conference.
Post-Reunification – a positive record:
1. FC Union Berlin and Dynamo Dresden share a storied past together. The two clubs have met 68 times before and after reunification. Union has won 11 from 25 league matches in the modern era, with nine draws and five defeats. The last away defeat was a 0-4 loss in August 2011.
Close to 3,000 Union supporters will make the near 200km trip from Berlin to Dresden and Hofschneider is looking forward to the lively atmosphere on Sunday. “Around 30,000 people, 3,000 of whom are from the Union, so emotions will play a major role. Peacefully, of course. We have to do our job on the pitch and we want to win the game,” added the coach.
Injuries: No Kroos or Skrzybski in Dresden
Hofschneider’s travelling squad will not include captain Felix Kroos and top scorer Steven Skrzybski, the latter unable to shake off muscle tightness in his thigh. There are no changes to the personnel who missed out last week against Bochum, with Jakob Busk, Sebastian Polter and Fabian Schönheim still unavailable. Central defender Christoph Schösswendter returned to full training after an injury to his knee.
“During the training week, I noticed a certain degree of ease and hope we can bring that onto the field Sunday. We know what’s expecting us, and we are ready to challenge our opponent over the whole 90 minutes of the match, to fight unconditionally for 90 minutes, in order to win this game,” said Hofschneider.
Please note: Important information for away fans
All tickets for Sunday's game in Dresden have been sold out for several weeks - and this applies to both the home and away sections of the ground. The gates to the away section of the DDV Stadium open at 1:30 pm.
