Union Berlin claim 2-1 win over Ingolstadt
Unbeaten run continues:
1. FC Union Berlin earned a superb 2-1 win at Ingolstadt on Monday evening, with goals from Sebastian Andersson and Akaki Gogia.
Urs Fischer's side maintained their unbeaten start to the 2.Bundesliga campaign with the win at the Audi-Sportpark.
Top-scorer Andersson scored from the penalty spot after 43 minutes before Gogia sealed the points with the decisive second goal for the Berliner and his third goal of the campaign. Ingolstadt substitute Stefan Kutschke scored from the penalty spot with around 10 minutes to go, but the visitors remained in control in the final stages.
FC Ingolstadt: Knaller; Ananou, Matip, Galvao; Kerschbaumer, Gimber; Pledl, Otavio, Kittel (Röcher 63); Benschop (Kutschke 66), Lezcano (Osawe 45)
1. FC Union Berlin: Gikiewicz; Trimmel, Friedrich, Hübner, Reichel; Schmiedebach, Prömel, Kroos (Zulj 71); Gogia (Hedlund 74), Andersson (Polter 84), Hartel
Attendance: 7,068
With more than 500 supporters in the away block, coach Fischer made three changes to the side which defeated Holstein Kiel on Tuesday evening. Ken Reichel returned at left-back, while Felix Kroos and Marcel Hartel were restored to the starting front six. The Berliners set the tone right from the beginning, with several dangerous situations in the Ingolstadt box and with five corner kicks inside the first 24 minutes. Marco Knaller, between the sticks for the home side, was kept extremely busy but those chances began to lessen as the half wore on. A foul by Dario Lezcano on Florian Hübner was penalised by referee Bastian Dankert who pointed to the spot on 42 minutes. Andersson stepped up and finished off to give the travelling Union fans something to celebrate before the half-time interval.
Union stayed unchanged for the second half and continued to dominate the proceedings. Andersson was inches away from finishing off Gogia's cross on 58 minutes, but the ball skipped away at the last moment. Ingolstadt's newly-appointed coach Alexander Nouri used up all his substitutions within 20 second-half minutes, while Urs Fischer introduced Robert Zulj from the bench. Gogia's last action before coming off was to receive a layoff on the edge of the box and drill the ball into the bottom corner of the net. Ingolstadt were given a controversial penalty kick with 12 minutes left, which substitute Kutschke converted. However, the pressure wasn't quite as forthcoming as expected with Fischer's side keeping their composure and seeing out the game with a highly-professional performance.
1. FC Union Berlin returned to second place in the table behind 1. FC Köln and continue to boast the league's best defensive record. Fischer's side are in action again on Sunday October 7 at 13:30 against 1. FC Heidenheim at the Stadion An der Alten Försterei. Tickets are still available here for the next home match.
