ZTE FC: Senkó - Huszti, Gergény, Safronov - Mosci, Tajti, Szendrei, Sankovic, Sajbán - Ubochioma, Szalay  

1. FC Union Berlin: Busk (46. Stein) - Skarke (46. Trimmel), Jaeckel (60. Doekhi), Knoche (60. Kemlein), Heintz (45. Leite), Roussillion (60. Dehl) - Thorsby (60. Aaronson), Kral (46. Khedira), Pantovic (60. Laidouni) - Behrens (46. Siebatcheu), Kaufmann (60. Fofana) 

Great start for ZTE - Union misses big chances

Exactly 16 seconds were played in the heat of the ZTE Stadium, when the reigning Hungarian Cup winner had already scored. Sajbán was the first to take advantage of a short return by Paul Jaeckel and converted the chance to give the home side an early lead. Union responded promptly and within a few minutes had two very good opportunities through Tim Skarke and Mikkel Kaufmann, but they couldn’t score. Afterwards both teams tried to attack quickly, but there were no clear chances. After 22 minutes, the referee asked both teams to take a break - time for Union coach Urs Fischer to give his team new instructions.

However, his players again made life difficult for themselves and repeatedly got again into trouble with many inaccuracies. Once again, it was Sajbán who scored the 2:0 in the 28th minute of the game. Jakob Busk prevented a possible 3:0 in the Union goal in minute 40 with a spectacular save. In the last minute of the first half, Union scored the next goal. This time, Mikkel Kaufmann did not miss the opportunity and put the ball into the bottom right corner of the goal (45th). With the score at 2:1 for the hosts, it went into the break a few seconds later.

ZTE scores again, Union comes back

Union started the 2nd half against ZTE with some fresh players. The rivals put Yannic Stein in the Union goal under pressure and forced the mistake that led to a quick 3:1 (47th). 10 minutes later, Urs Fischer changed five positions as planned. Two newcomers, David Fofana and Brenden Aaronson, made their debut appearances for Union. ZTE coach Gábor Boér also brought fresh players onto the field a little later, so both teams were stronger again. While ZTE, who will play their first competitive match of the new season in the UEFA Europa Conference League play-offs in 14 days' time, managed their lead in a routine manner, the lack of experience was clearly noticeable in the Union side. Shortly before the end, Brenden Aaaronson finally managed to finish off one of his impressive dribbles with the final goal (89th). A few minutes later it was over and the game ended with a deserved 3:2 victory for the hosts.

Urs Fischer’s words after the match

For head coach Urs Fischer, the Union game had  too many errors: "In the first half, we simply made too many mistakes and lost the ball too often. We started the second half better, but then made another mistake. Then it's 3:1 and we've seen that the opponent is almost ready to start the season."

Next week’s planning

After returning to Berlin, the Eisernen can look forward to another week of preparation at their home training ground. Two test matches are on the agenda: on Wednesday, July 19, 2023, Union will host the traditional Austrian club Rapid Wien at the Stadion An der Alten Försterei; on Saturday, July 22, 2023, the North German second-division team Holstein Kiel will be our guests in Köpenick. Tickets for both games are on sale.