Union were narrowly beaten, 2-1, in Dortmund despite a battling performance, that saw them equalise through Kevin Behrens’ well worked goal on the hour. And it was only through Paul Seguin’s unlucky interception that Moukoko grabbed the winner for the hosts.

Borussia Dortmund: Kobel - Ryerson, Süle, Hummels, Guerreiro - Can – Adeyemi (69. Bynoe-Gittens), Bellingham, Brandt, Malen (74. Reus) – Haller (74. Moukoko) 

1. FC Union Berlin: Rönnow – Juranović, Jaeckel, Knoche, Doekhi, Gießelmann – Thorsby (62. Seguin), Khedira, Haberer – Becker (74. Michel), Behrens (62. Leweling) 

Attendance: 81.365 

Goals: 1:0 Malen (28.), 1:1 Behrens (61.), 2:1 Moukoko (79.) 

Thinking of the old school

Urs Fischer talked in his press conference on Thursday of how he largely avoided the “old school” way of dealing with his players after their poor first half performance against Eintracht in the Cup. No matter how he may have wanted to. He cast his mind back to his own time as a player when coaches would use their rage as one of their most important tools of motivation. That would mean punishment; it would mean volume and rage.

Alex Ferguson was famous for his “hair-dryer treatment”, for example. Leyton Orient boss, John Sitton once offered to fight two of his players at once, calling them out with the legendary phrase, “You can pair up if you want, you can bring your dinner,” whose oblique meaning is still as baffling to this day as it was when he first bawled it

When he was angered, Union’s old boss, Uwe Neuhaus, used to send his players for a miserable run through the forest, the worse the weather and the more treacherous the terrain the better. 

Fischer won't need to resort to such tactics in the morning. His side had performed superbly at times against a determined Dortmund, and the winner came only through Paul Seguin's misfortune when tracking back. 

No, Fischer said, those techniques do not work anymore. What is important, he said, is to be true to yourself, and he should know. This was his 200^th game in charge of Union. He has been writing history in Köpenick for a long time now. He had other solutions in mind.

However, he did have the luxury of a couple of extra days training instead before this crucial game against a Dortmund side, stung from their own defeat in the Cup on Wednesday, too. Crucial it most certainly was. For both sides.

When they beat Dortmund 2-0 back in October, through two Janik Haberer goals, it put Union four points clear at the top of the league, but few believed this would last and Fischer, a man who so resolutely refuses to look any further than the next game on the schedule, certainly wouldn’t say as much.

But here we were, and the re-match found a game between second versus third. At Easter. that was astonishing enough.

It was not just the table which gave Union’s 4,000 and more travelling fans great cause for optimism though. Fischer had refused to lay any blame on his understudy, Lennart Grill, for the loss in the cup midweek to Eintracht, but Rönnow has been superb this season, and is as responsible as anyone for Union’s lofty perch.

Fischer did, however, make one major change to his side today and that was in putting Paul Jaeckel in place of Diogo Leite alongside Robin Knoche and Danilho Doekhi as part of the back three, restoring Niko Giesselmann to the left hand side, and switching Josip Juranovic back over to his more natural right flank.

Rani Khedira, as ever, was the holding midfielder, deployed just behind Morten Thorsby and Janik Haberer. Up top were Sheraldo Becker and Kevin Behrens, their goals against Stuttgart still fresh in their minds.

Union start stronger, but Dortmund take the lead

Union certainly started as if they had a point to prove. The game started started with a yellow card for Niklas Süle as he took his eye off the ball, and had to barge Becker over to stop him running at goal. This was not the start that Edin Terzic had envisioned, certainly, for his side. Juranovic hit the free kick into the box, but it drifted away.

Süle then got lucky as he clattered Haberer on the same left hand side a minute later. Becker then slipped Behrens through into the box after that, but he was offside. Behrens repeated the trick a couple of minutes later, to Becker this time, but he too was just a shoulder’s width offside. Behrens then headed over after seven minutes.

It looked like Fischer’s techniques, whether old or new school had worked.

Karim Adeyemi, the best player on the pitch in the first half, reacted. He tricked his way past two on his way towards the box before the ball was bundled away. He then tried to slip down the left, but his cross, too, was cleared. But Union were not to be cowed. There was a lovely combination between Khedira and Haberer before they won another free kick in the Dortmund half. Juranovic could only sail it into Gregor Kobel’s hands. 

Raphael Guerrero almost set the busy Julian Brandt free with a delightful flick of the outside of his boot before Rönnow got his first real touch of the ball, as he claimed the resulting corner with no fuss. Brandt looked dangerous; it took Rani Khedira to stop him in his tracks with a perfectly timed challenge after almost 20 minutes.

Adeyemi got the second yellow of the day with a swallow dive as he burst into the box past Juranovic, cutting in from the right hand byline. It was a waste. He would have been better off continuing his run, and he was a constant danger when he stayed on his feet, cutting in from the right, combining with Jude Bellingham. Bellingham then went down as if he had been shot as Jaeckel slid into him on the edge of the box.

Jaeckel got the next card though, as he brought down his former teammate - his former challenger for the left back spot - Julian Ryerson. The free kick was directed towards a flying Mats Hummels, but Doekhi was there to head clear. Ryerson and Giesselmann’s battle on Union's left made for compelling drama. The roles were reversed as the Dortmunder then brought down the Unioner after 35 minutes, bringing Terzic off his bench in rage.

But Dortmund were now in the ascendancy, and it was after a wicked cross from Guerreiro that they took the lead. From the left wing he put a perfectly struck ball into the netherlands between Rönnow coming out and Giesselmann coming in, and a Robin Knoche who could only watch on in horror. Donyell Malen only had to make contact as he slid into the gap in the six-yard box to finish.

It could have been double, were it not for a superb stop from Rönnow as Sebastien Haller was sure he’d had him beaten just before half time; Guerreiro’s cross finding the striker heading at the back post, but Rönnow somehow got across in time to block the ball with his body. Malen would then get down the right, but Knoche was there to hit his attempted cross clear, just as he did after an almighty mess of bodies in the Union box just before the whistle for the break came.

Union hadn’t had a terrible first half, certainly not. However, they had not created many big chances, and couldn’t have too much to complain about in going down the tunnel at half time a goal down.

Union equalise through Behrens, but Moukoko breaks their hearts

Again, Union came out looking sharper. Becker found Behrens, who turned instead of taking the ball on with his left; he laid it off for Giesselmann who blazed over from distance. Khedira, Thorsby and Giesselmann then tried to create some space, moving the ball neatly along the edge of the Dortmund box.

But Haller was to light the game up with a back heeled flick to Brandt that he could not finish off. The English prodigy, Bellingham, found space on the left, crossing for Guerreiro.

Behrens caught Ryerson on the bridge of the nose for which he probably deserved his own yellow card. Becker, meanwhile, burst past Guerreiro, putting his hand up as he went, for which he probably did not deserve his.

Union strived on, never giving up hope. Khedira and Thorsby were stepping up from midfield, Behrens was always looking for the ball ahead of them, Becker constantly looking to beat his man.

And it was Behrens who superbly rose to nod down the longest of balls, flicking it on to Becker, that created the equaliser on the hour. Becker turned and immediately passed it back, where Behrens finished with the inside of his right foot, giving Kobel no chance whatsoever.

It was a fine striker’s goal, brave, strong, and precise, from conception to finish.

Dortmund countered. Brandt saw a shot balloon over the bar, and it took both Jaeckel and Knoche to snuff out Adeyemi’s run down the left. However, Union were now buoyed with a sense of their own self-belief. 

Poor Behrens, he looked stunned as Fischer brought on Jamie Leweling and Paul Seguin for him and Thorsby just afterward his goal as the game now opened up. But it was the beautiful touch by Juranovic as he brought down  a ball in the inside right channel, killing it, before slipping a little gem of a pass to Becker that threatened to break Dortmund open. It took a superbly timed challenge from Guerreiro to rob him before he could turn.

It went back and forth, back and forth. Haller headed into Rönnow’s arms, claiming a handball along the way. Marco Reuss, on for Haller, shot across goal when put in by Brandt. Giesselmann skipped around Brandt; Leweling shot at Kobel from outside the box.

It was as Reuss came into Union’s half that Dortmund re-established their lead. Paul Seguin chased back, nicking the ball off him, but he had put too either much or too little on it, and it rolled into the path of substitute Youssoufa Moukoko who took a touch and scored with his left from an angle, Rönnow taken out of the picture already, barely believing his poor luck.

Fischer reacted by now sending on Jordan and Milos Pantovic, alongside Sven Michel, Leweling and Haberer, making up what was now pretty much a front five, with five minutes still to play. Khedira found Juranovic with a long, switched, crossfield ball, but the following pass was claimed by Kobel.

But as Union pushed up, it always left the chance for Dortmund to break, as they did through Jamie Bynoe-Gittens. Rönnow tipped his shot wide at full stretch with four minutes added time to play. Then it was up to the wise old heads of Marco Reuss and Emre Can to while away the time, kicking the ball away, letting the clock tick its endless way round to the final whistle. Bellingham tried to hold the ball in the corner. Rönnow came out almost as far as the half way line to pump it ball into the Dortmund box, but the hosts managed to hold firm.

Fischer said after final whistle he had mixed feelings about the game, caught between how happy he was with the fight his side had shown -  and he was right - but he said too that he didn’t know if that was enough to override his hurt at the loss, and the chances that Union couldn’t make more of.

But he didn’t need to go old school this time at all. For his side have already passed more tests this year than most do in a lifetime.