Borussia Pankow 1960 vs 1. FC Union Berlin
BFV-Pokal, 1. Matchday
Borussia Pankow 1960 vs
BFV-Pokal, 1. Matchday
First Round Loss in the Cup
Match report
1. FC Union Berlin's Women's team are out of the cup at the first hurdle, losing 2-1 at Verbandsligisten Borussia Pankow.
Borussia Pankow: Kirchhoff - Ruß, Krüger, C. Klausch, Erlacher (90+2. Wenk), Janowitz, Ebel, Friese, Schmitt, F. Klausch, Weinholz
1. FC Union Berlin: Krebs - Scheffler, Schulz (69. Görsdorf), Schindler, Rurack - Scheel, Wimmer, Heiseler - Bucher (46. Reissner), Spolaczyk, Krauss (46. Youssef)
Goals: 0:1 Erlacher (59.), 0:2 Erlacher (72.), 1:2 Spolaczyk (78.)
Attendance: 80
Tough first half in Pankow
Union's head coach. Ailien Poese had wrung in the changes ahead of 1. FC Union Berlin's first midweek fixture, rotating seven players from the side who drew against RB Leipzig II at the weekend. The idea was that she would thus give numerous players who had not been able to collect too much playing time in recent weeks the opportunity to prove themselves.
Union came into the north of Berlin derby as favourites, and consequently had a lot of possession, but despite a few flashes, they struggled to deal with fierce opponents on a narrow pitch.
Their best chance in a tough first half came from captain Lisa Heiseler, but her shot in the 15th minute was deflected wide for a corner by the goalkeeper, Sophia Kirchhoff. And apart from a long-range shot by Luca Scheel, which flew narrowly past the top corner on the stroke of half an hour, and and a shot by Pauline Wimmer, that flew just wide ten minutes later, Union failed to create many other threats on goal.
Cool Pankow heads on the counter
At the half-time break, Poese swapped her wingers, bringing in Nour Youssef and Naika Reissner. The latter almost scored the opening goal just four minutes after the restart when she found herself alone in front of the goalkeeper, but her shot missed the target.
Pankow had been strong at the back, but then, after an hour, something happened that should never have happened against the battling underdogs. A long ball from the hosts flew right into the path of their lurking striker, Lorena Erlacher, who finished the counterattack with ice-cold precision and put Pankow in the lead.
Union were in a state of shock, and only 13 minutes later the disaster continued, when Erlacher scored her second . It was only then that the Köpenickers rallied. Yara Scheffler's shot from distance flying just wide Then, in the 79th minute, Elisa Spolaczyk scored, giving Union some hope. They threw everything at Pankow, desperately trying to at least take the tie into exctra time, but eventually even Spolaczyk's best chance, with ten minutes to go, was side-footed over the bar in the end. It just wasn't to be.
The knock-out hit Union's players hard , it was clear to see after the final whistle.
"It shows time and again that the cup can have its own rules," said Poese after the game. "Pankow played cleverly, using the narrow pitch, and taking their chances. After conceding the goals we threw everything at them, but unfortunately couldn't take advantage of our opportunities. We wish Borussia Pankow every success in the cup and will now concentrate fully on the league."
A Look Ahead
Union will have the chance to make amends in the Regionalliga Nordost next Sunday when they play at home against Hertha 03 Zehlendorf. The game has been moved at short notice, so will now take place at Dörpfeldstraße. Kick-off is at 14:00. Admission is free.
Union Take on Borussia Pankow
Match preview
Following on from 1. FC Union's women's team's season start four weeks ago, it's time for the cup competitions to begin in earnest. Tomorrow, 22 September 2022, Union are guests of the Verbandsligisten Borussia Pankow in the 1st main round of the Polytan Cup. Kick-off on the artificial pitch at Pichelswerderstraße 7 is at 19:30 pm.
What is the Berlin Pokal?
The Berlin Cup - officially the Polytan Cup - is organised by the BFV, the Berlin Football Association with 32 teams from the German capital taking part in the 1st round proper. The winner of the competition receives the right to play in the national DFB Cup in the following season. The current holders are Türkiyemspor Berlin, who won last year's final 2-0 against Viktoria Berlin.
Union failed to reach the round of 16 last season, losing against the eventual winners when they were beaten 2-1 away in Kreuzberg. However, Union have already brought the cup home to Köpenick five times, most recently in 2018/19, when they defeated Viktoria Berlin 3-2 in the final.
The Opponents:
There will be many Unioner, especially those who also follow the U-23 women's team, who are probably well aware of Borussia Pankow. After all, the team from northern Berlin have been playing in the fourth-tier Berlin-Liga together with Union's second team since 2015/16.
Pankow have meanwhile established themselves in the upper echelons of the table and last season, were only a hair's breadth away from being promoted to the Regionalliga for the first time, finishing in 3rd place. Although Union's U-23 team won the league, they could not be promoted because the first and second teams are not allowed to play in the same league, so that Hertha 03 Zehlendorf ultimately benefited as runners-up.
It was only last Saturday that Union's U-23's and Borussia Pankow last met in league play at Hämmerlingstraße, Union managing to equalise for 1-1 in time added on. Alina Janowitz, who wore the red and white of Union from 2014 to 2017, was an old acquaintance on the pitch.
All in all, however, the second team of Union have a clear advantage in the head-to-headccomparison. Winning 17 out of 21 encounters. Pankow have only come away victorious three times.
But the last encounter between the first women's team and Borussia Pankow was not that far back. It was only last season that the two teams met, also in the 1st main round of the Berlin Cup. Elisa Spolaczyk in particular, who scored four goals, will have fond memories of that match about a year ago. Another cup encounter in March 2018, when the teams faced each other in the quarter-finals, the Union ladies even won 8:0.
The coach's view of the match
Despite the difference in class, Union's head coach Ailien Poese warned of the upcoming task. "Borussia Pankow showed against our second team at the weekend how passionately they can defend, and then counterattack at lightning speed when the opportunity arises. We are preparing for an opponent who can close the spaces well on the narrow pitch and will be difficult to play against."
Full-back Luise Wildner will not be available on Thursday. In addition, Luca Scheel, Hannah Kratz and Megan Reichenbach are still questionable.
