Goals from Marcel Hartel and Sebastian Polter ensured Jens Keller’s side returned to the capital with a good performance and three valuable points. After a difficult first half, Hartel stepped up on 55 minutes before Polter added to his hat-trick on Monday with the match-winning effort inside the final 20 minutes.

It came as little surprise that Keller’s side remained unchanged from Monday’s win. This clash, however, was more even with both teams tactically cancelling each other out. Union wanted to improve on the defensive front, while Hannes Drew’s team afforded no opportunities in the defensive transition.

Union keeper Jakob Busk was alert to a batch of Aue efforts in the first part of the opening 45 minutes. The second part belonged to Union with more security and time in possession. Steven Skrzybski missed a decent chance after 19 minutes, with Polter and Hartel combining cleverly around the box.

But Aue’s recent form under Drews has shown they pack a punch on the break. Pascal Köpke’s raw acceleration was threatening, with Busk forced to deny the striker from a tight angle. The home side continued to up the tempo after the interval and were only thwarted by the impressive Danish keeper.

Union struck first blood, 10 minutes after the restart. Polter dominated in an unusual wide position and put the ball on a plate for Hartel to follow up and break the deadlock. The second came around 15 minutes later when Kristian Pedersen joined the attack from the left flank, crossing directly into the path of Polter who finished with the streak of a player in great form.

It wasn’t a classic performance from Union, with Aue continuing to create chances into the last 20 minutes. A cross from Nazarov found Sören Betram who was unmarked before heading past Busk. Keller’s men were on the back-foot from then until the final whistle, but saw it out with some impressive, last-ditch defending.

“We’re happy to have taken 3 points today,” said Keller. “The first half was tactically very good: we had a clear command of situations without creating many opportunities. We lacked the final pass. In the second half, two great moves put us in the lead. Then we let ourselves down by allowing Aue back into the game. After that we did well physically to get the points."