Union held to a draw in Sandhausen
Still unbeaten:
SV Sandhausen and 1. FC Union Berlin played out a 0-0 draw on the fourth week of the 2.Bundesliga campaign.
Neither side created any key chances, with Union waiting until the 81st minute to come close through Grischa Prömel.
SV Sandhausen: Lomb; Kister, Karl, Verlaat; Klingmann, Jansen, Förster (Wooten 49), Linsmayer, Paqarada (Müller 73); Behrens, Schleusener (Gislason 84)
1. FC Union Berlin: Gikiewicz; Trimmel, Friedrich, Hübner, Reichel; Schmiedebach; Redondo (Gogia 59), Prömel, Zulj (Kroos 81), Hedlund (Hartel 68); Andersson
Attendance: 5517
Without a single point in the 2.Bundesliga so far, Sandhausen started like a side desperate to bring that run to a close. It was precisely the kind of performance that head coach Urs Fischer predicted in his press conference on Friday: a strong Sandhausen side which was intense and aggressive around winning second balls. In the 12th minute, Maximilian Jansen picked up a loose ball and fired a thumping drive on target, but it was well matched by Rafal Gikiewicz. Union had to wait until the half hour mark to get any joy behind the three-man Sandhausen defence, and unsurprisingly, that was inspired by top scorer Sebastian Andersson who had scored four goals in his last three games. The Swedish striker darted in behind Jesper Verlaat, but found himself at such a tight angle that the finish would have required something special.
The Köpenick side made no changes for the second half and found a little more space on the flanks to put pressure on Kenan Kocak's men. Ken Reichel drove forward with the ball at his feet and hit the target while Kevin Behrens threatened at the other end. The most fluid Union attack of the game was in the 63rd minute with Simon Hedlund coming down the left side, sending the ball across for Robert Zulj, who was matched by Sandhausen keeper Niklas Lomb. Akaki Gogia, Marcel Hartel and Felix Kroos were used from the bench to bring a spark to Union's game, but aside from a half-chance for Grischa Prömel with nine minutes left, the game ended goalless.
"In the end we are satisfied with the point; after 90 minutes the result is just. For me the game was very chaotic, the game was very competitive on both sides, both Sandhausen and we made the spaces very tight. Overall, there was little flow to the game, but still one or two chances to score. Finally, after a balanced game, we take one point to Berlin," said head coach Urs Fischer after the match.
The international break is a welcome opportunity for the players to get some rest from the league schedule. Julian Ryerson, Marcel Hartel and Lennard Maloney will go and represent their national teams over the next couple of weeks, while the rest of the squad will take on Grasshopper Zürich at the Stadion An der Alten Försterei on Wednesday September 5 at 18:00.
