Two weeks after the thumping 9-0 thumping victory against Hertha 03 Zehlendorf, 1. Fc Union's women's team returned from the free-week with a repeat performance, winning 8-0 against SFC Stern 1900 in their sixth Regionalliga Nordost fixture of the season.

1. FC Union Berlin: Wagner - Wildner (78. Scheffler), Schindler (78. Scheel), Becker, Bach - Reichenbach, Wimmer, Heiseler, Bucher (66. Krauss) - Youssef (66. Kratz), Spolaczyk (66. Görsdorf)

SFC Stern 1900: Bartholdi - Weinberg, Gierig, Ibrisevic, Wacker, Armanious, Herber (87. Holst), Schmitz (58. Roll), Boldt (8. Platte (83. Verheijen)), Cibusch, Lange (83. Hartwig)

Goals: 1-0 Reichenbach (3.), 2-0 Youssef (45+1.), 3-0 Heiseler (47.), 4-0 Spolaczyk (58., penalty), 5-0 Heiseler (68.), 6-0 Krauss (73.), 7-0 Reichenbach (77.), 8-0 Krauss (89.)

Attendance: 250

Union take an early lead, then extend it late

Union started the game against Steglitz with only two changes from the starting eleven in the previous fixture against Hertha 03 Zehlendorf. And they flew out of the blocks, with Megan Reichenbach converting a cross from Lisa Heiseler after only three minutes. Just two minutes later, another cross came in, but Elisa Spolaczyk's header went just wide of the goal.

Stern withdrew, sitting so deep that although Union had a lot of possession, they were unable to create any further scoring chances. Indeed, they came close to equalising out of nowhere on 26 minutes when, after a long ball, SFC striker Aldijana Ibrisevic found herself free in front of goalkeeper Melanie Wagner, but shot over the target.

Again the match returned to its placid rhythm, but Union started to press ever harder as half-time loomed. Both Spolaczyk and Nour Youssef missed chances they probably should have taken. At the stroke of half-time, however, Youssef finally made it 2-0, hitting home after after a cross from Reichenbach.

Second half shooting practice

Union then put on a show in the second half, they were rampant and Stern couldn't stop them. Heiseler made it 3-0 from distance in the 48th minute, before Spolaczyk converted a penalty kick on the hour. The Steglitz backline disintegrated and Heiseler's second goal followed in the 67th minute, before Lina Krauss also added her name to the scoresheet shortly after her substitution, making it 6-0 with 20 minutes still to play. Just four minutes later, Reichenbach also scored her brace to make it 7-0.

There was still just time for Union's goalkeeper, Melanie Wagner, to distinguish herself for the first time, making a fine stop following a corner and ensuring a clean sheet for the fourth time in a row. The final goal was scored by Lina Krauss in the 88th minute to make it 8-0.

With 16 points from six games, Union remain at the top of the table. Their closest rivals are Viktoria Berlin, who won today's top match against RB Leipzig II and have 15 points.

The views on the match

"We delivered a commanding performance," said a visibly satisfied Union head-coach Ailien Poese after the final whistle. "The first half might have started a bit sluggishly, although in principle we did a lot of things right. To then be so decisive in the 2nd half showed our strength. During the break, we talked about a few things that we wanted to do, and we decided we were going to set off fireworks. We succeeded brilliantly."

Double goal scorer Megan Reichenbach said "It was a very, very good game. We played well together as a team. I'm happy about my two goals today and I want to build on that. We're now focusing on the next game in Leipzig, there we want to continue as we left off today."

Outlook

Next Sunday, 16.10.2022, normal league business continues for Union when they travel to play SV Eintracht Leipzig-Süd. The Leipzig side are currently 13th in the league with three points. Kick-off at the Südkampfbahn is at 2pm.