Despite Sebastian Andersson's late header, 1. FC Union Berlin fell to a 2-1 defeat at Darmstadt.
Yannick Stark's goal shortly after the restart put the home side in front. With Union pushing bodies forward, Darmstadt took advantage at a set-play with 13 minutes left as Maximilian Wittek headed in from a central position in the box.
Andersson pulled one back shortly before the end, but it proved to be a consolation goal.
The Berliners fielded the same starting line-up, which secured all three points in a 2-0 win over Hamburg last Sunday at the Stadion An der Alten Försterei. Florian Hübner returned from injury, but started on the bench. Though the teams struggled to find a rhythm, in part due to some fouls and in part due to some strong defending, Union forced the first scoring opportunities of the day. Daniel Heuer Fernandes was kept on his toes, gathering a weak header from Sebastian Andersson on 24 minutes and a low strike from Julian Ryerson four minutes later. Robert Zulj’s free-kick may have had enough power to beat the Darmstadt keeper, but the strike hit the outside of the post. Dangerous throughout the first half in behind the home defence, Suleiman Abdullahi came inside with a sharp turn of pace and forced a good save with a left-foot drive as the stalemate continued into the break.
Darmstadt struck first blood within three minutes of the restart. Marcel Heller's speed made life difficult for the Union defence and the cut-back was buried into the net by midfielder Stark. Towards the hour mark, the Köpenick club tinkered with the shape on the pitch – Ryerson and Schmiedebach were replaced by Joshua Mees and Akaki Gogia. With Darmstadt's defensive structure keeping out Union, Fischer added Sebastian Polter to a three-man frontline with the hope of finding the elusive goal. However those plans were made a little more complex when Wittek attacked Stark's free-kick and doubled the home side's lead. It was always going to be hard to overturn a two-goal deficit in the final minutes, but Andersson gave Union some hope with a fine header on 87 minutes. A late flurry of power-play from Fischer's team put Heuer Fernandes to the test in stoppage time: Abdullahi passed up a great chance from close range, while Zulj first struck the post and was then denied by the Darmstadt keeper. In the end, Union were left without the points as we prepare for the penultimate weekend of the league campaign, with 1. FC Magdeburg the visitors to the Stadion An der Alten Försterei next Sunday.
Union Berlin prepared for tough test in Darmstadt
Match preview
1. FC Union Berlin’s promotion charge continues on Sunday May 5 at 13:30, when the Köpenick club faces SV Darmstadt 98 at the Merck-Stadion am Böllenfalltor.
Review: Hamburg & Köln beaten
Both Union and Darmstadt celebrated impressive respective victories over Hamburg and Köln. Urs Fischer’s side turned in an outstanding performance, scoring two goals to see off the northern Germans at the Stadion An der Alten Försterei on Sunday. Robert Zulj slotted home quickly after the break before Grischa Prömel’s piledriver cannoned in off the post to spark amazing scenes in the capital.
Meanwhile, less than 48 hours earlier, Felix Platte scored a second-half winner as Darmstadt beat 1. FC Köln 2-1. Dimitrios Grammozis’ team led the game through Serdar Dursun’s 34th-minute effort. Though Jhon Cordoba equalised for the home side, Darmstadt impressively fought back to take advantage of a defensive mix-up with 14 minutes left. Darmstadt’s 40-year-old Greek coach has strung together a solid run of results since he replaced Dirk Schuster in March — Die Lillen have lost two of eight games and have beaten Hamburg, Kiel and Köln.
When asked in the pre-match press conference whether Darmstadt were strong at the minute, Fischer answered: "I think you can say that when you look at the last results of Darmstadt. They won in Köln and Hamburg, then beat Holstein Kiel at home. That says a lot. I also believe they've been rescued which can continue to make them feel free. We need a top attitude and confirm what we showed against HSV. We need the points."
Record: Time to break Darmstadt duck
With their first meeting in 2014, there’s very little history between Darmstadt and Union Berlin. The capital club are trailing behind when it comes to head-to-head record. The 3-1 victory in December was the club’s first win over Darmstadt in competitive league football. On their 2.Bundesliga visits to the Böllenfalltor, Union have come away nursing 0-5 and 1-3 defeats — either side of Darmstadt’s two-season stint in the top division.
Personnel: Final Fitness Tests
While Fischer confirmed that Fabian Schönheim and Eroll Zejnullahu were still unavailable, there was positive news on the injury front. Florian Hübner and Christopher Trimmel have completed training this week, and will go through the final session tomorrow with a decision at its conclusion. Nicolai Rapp will miss out on Sunday as he is sitting out the second game of his two-match ban.
Service: Sold out in Darmstadt
In Darmstadt, there are no more available tickets for the game. There are ongoing construction works to the stadium which limit the number of spots available.
