Hat-trick hero Abdullahi fires Union to win in Erfurt
Dominant Friendly Win:
Suleiman Abdullahi scored a hat trick inside four first-half minutes as 1. FC Union Berlin swept Rot-Weiß Erfurt aside at the Siegwaldstadion in a 4-1 victory.
The Nigerian’s impressive rout started on 22 minutes as he finished off successive chances, with credit to Berkan Taz and Carlos Mane for the assists.
George Klebel pulled one back shortly after for Thomas Brdaric’s side, but substitute Daniel Eidtner restored the three-goal difference with 81 minutes of the match played.
Rot-Weiß Erfurt: Knoll; Adomah (Roschlaub 45), Becken (Lela 45), Lorenzoni (Zingu 45); Kelbel (Geurts 45), Gladrow (Moritz 64), Hasse (Wegmann 45), Rüdiger (Voigt 45), Pino Tellez (Spahija 73); Shala (Göllnitz 64), Rechberger (Meier 73)
1. FC Union Berlin: Busk; Ryerson, Parensen, Torrejon (Rankic 74), Lenz; Rapp; Mane (Maloney 45), Taz, Mees (Sander 74), Hartel (Dehl 45); Abdullahi (Eidtner 74)
Union arrived in Thuringen to play a benefit game to help the fourth-division club raise funds to avoid future insolvency. With the international break allowing the most-used players a chance to put their feet up for the weekend, coach Urs Fischer took advantage of the opportunity to hand out some minutes. Jakob Busk stepped in for Rafal Gikiewicz between the sticks. Julian Ryerson, Michael Parensen and Marc Torrejon returned to the defence, while youngster Taz started on the left-hand side of midfield.
Erfurt, fifth in the Regionalliga Nordost, put enough pressure on Nicolai Rapp, who saw his header cleared off the line after six minutes. Rico Gladrow’s energetic burst from midfield was the best the hosts had to offer, with the midfielder firing a right-foot shot a few yards over the crossbar. Union looked for the magic touch in the final third with Ryerson, Taz and Torrejon missing chances after a dominant period. Eventually, Abdullahi stepped forward and scored three goals within a bizarre four-minute window to give the 2.Bundesliga side a three-goal advantage. Both Taz and Mane were influential in providing the ammunition for the Nigerian. Two minutes later, Klebel landed a great shot into the top corner, leaving Busk with no chance. The Köpenick club could have added more before the end of the half, with Francis Adomah clearing Abdullahi’s shot off the line and Marcel Hartel missing a double chance from close range.
Lennard Maloney and Laurenz Dehl replaced Mane and Hartel at the interval, the latter creating Union’s first excellent chance in the second half. Union pressed on without being able to finish off some good chances. The post denied Mees on 66 minutes after a superb driving run from left-to-right, before Taz came close with a neat shot on 79 minutes. A clutch of Union youngsters were introduced towards the end — Stefan Rankic, Florian Sander and Eidtner all involved from our Under-19 Bundesliga squad. Eidtner broke clear of the home defence with nine minutes left on the clock and finished off confidently from inside the box.
