The women's team of 1. FC Union Berlin have beaten VfL Wolfsburg II 1:0 in the first test match of the summer preparations. The goal of the day was scored by Korina Janez in the 60th minute.

1. FC Union Berlin: Wagner (46. Bösl) - Schulz (46. Rurack), Becker (46. Frank), Niesler (72. Schulz) - Steinert (46. Sakar (75. Abu Sabbah)), Blaschka (46. Trojahn (81. D. Orschmann)), K. Orschmann (72. Steinert), Heiseler (46. Moraitou), Metzker (46. Bach) - D. Orschmann (46. Janez), Abu Sabbah (46. Reissner)

VfL Wolfsburg II: Smolarczyk - Hoffmann (46. Drews), Jonietz (65. Meister), Wöhrn (46. M. König), Theijs (46. L. König) - Harting (75. Wöhrn), Beyer (82. Theijs) - Herzig, Arouna (75. Damm), Damm (46. Nolsoe) - Madrid (46. Müller)

Personnel: Head coach Ailien Poese was without Maria Cristina Lange, Anna Weiß and new signing Antonia Halverkamps. Instead, Judith Steinert, who was signed from SC Freiburg, was in the starting line-up and made her first appearance for 1. FC Union Berlin. The Köpenickers made nine changes for the second half, with the other two new signings Cara Bösl and Korina Janez also making their Union debuts. 

Goals: 1:0 Janez (60.)

Spectators: 101 

Despite great chances: No goals in the first half

It only took 90 seconds on the Fritz-Lesch-Sportplatz in Adlershof for the Union team to have their first big chance. Dina Orschmann won the ball in the opposition penalty area and then appeared in front of the goalkeeper who she dribbled but her shot on the empty net was saved by Maria Jonietz on the goal line. After a quarter of an hour, the visitors from Wolfsburg also made their presence felt in the game: Firstly, Lilly Damm hit the outside of the net after a strong dribble on the left, and a minute later Mira Arouna narrowly missed the target from distance (14th/15th).

However, the next great chance for Union followed immediately in the 16th minute: Lisa Heiseler was served by a fine lob behind the defense, but narrowly missed the opposing box as she fell. In the 21st minute, Dina Orschmann headed in a cross from the right, but was unable to put the ball on target. 

After this intense opening phase with several actions in the box, the teams had to pay tribute to the high temperatures as the game progressed. As a result, the game levelled off somewhat in the remaining minutes. Shortly before the break, however, Union had another great chance: after a quick combination and a cross-field pass from Pia Metzker, Sarah Abu Sabbah had a free shot from ten meters out, but was denied by a foot save from Wolfsburg goalkeeper Nelly Smolarczyk (41')

Janez shoots Union to victory on debut

Numerous fresh faces came on for the second half, which was immediately noticeable on the pitch. Union played forwards with renewed intensity and were rewarded in the 60th minute: Celine Frank won the ball in the opposition half and fed new signing Korina Janez, who slotted the ball into the far corner with her first touch. 

VfL Wolfsburg II had a great chance to equalise in the 73rd minute: A cross from the right side reached Mira Arouna, but her header hit the crossbar. In the final quarter of an hour, however, it was the Köpenickers who pushed for a second goal. Latoya Bach was the first to get a shot away, but Nelly Smolarczyk saved her attempt (76'). In the 79th minute, Janez then ran in alone on goal after a through pass, but another one-on-one foot save from Smolarczyk prevented her brace. In the 84th minute, the keeper was also on hand to save a shot from Abu Sabbah.

At the other end, goalkeeper Cara Bösl stopped Wolfsburg's direct counter-attack at the highest level (85'). It was also the last relevant action of the match. The Union women’s team started the 2024/25 season with a win.  

Comments on the game

‘It was a great opponent for the first test match. We discussed a lot of things beforehand that we didn't quite have on our radar last year, such as our pressing and our defensive work. Our opponents were excellent because they wanted to play football the way we want to play. They were aggressive, put everything into the game and that's exactly what we need now. The fact that we were able to win by one goal in the end is of course good news,’ said head coach Ailien Poese, analysing the game. 

‘I could definitely have scored another goal and we could have made even better use of our chances as a team in general, but we still achieved our goal of getting a win. I think we have a really good approach and I'm looking forward for a good season,’ said debutant and goalscorer Korina Janez.

Next steps

On Tuesday, the women’s squad will travel to Bad Saarow for a short four-day training camp. The team will also play another test match there: On Wednesday, 24 July, they will face Polish champions Pogon Szczecin. Kick-off at Bad Saarow sports ground is at 14:00.