1. FC Union Berlin's women's team beat RasenBallsport leipzig 1-0 on Sunday in the third game of the Regionalliga Nordost season, Celine Frank scoring the only goal of the game in the 22nd minute. With the win, Union remain top, having played three, and won three.

RasenBallsport Leipzig II: Büchner - Dittrich (85. Johne), Braunsdorf, Pospischil, Schuhert, Kiunke - Bührig, Borisch (71. Petrowski), Misch, Grenz (85. Moritz) - Grunenberg (59. Bäßler)

1. FC Union Berlin: Wagner - Weiß, Niesler, Becker, Metzker - Frank, Görsdorf (82. Blaschka), Moraitou - Youssef (63. Lange), Abu Sabbah (46. Rurack), D. Orschmann (63. Trojahn)

Goals: 0:1 Frank (22.)

Attendance: 60

Frank breaks through a stubborn defence

It was never going to be raining with goals, this game, and despite Union's dominance of the ball, Leipzig's five-player back-line were resolute in their efforts. Still, Union went at them, and had their first shot on goal as early as the fourth minute, when Athanasia Moraitou's shot from the edge of the penalty area forced RasenBallsport keeper Anne Büchner to make a brilliant save, tipping the ball over the crossbar.

Union drove at their hosts, forcing them backwards into their own half, but were finding it difficult to get into promising finishing positions. This was resolved in the 22nd minute with a deep cross from Anna Weiß, hit high into the penalty area, where Celine Frank finished suprbly, putting the ball in the top corner.

Union relaxed, and were able to play more freely following the goal, and the next big chance would come within ten minutes when Dina Orschmann tokk a long ball from Charleen Niesler in her stride, moving it on to Nour Youssef, free in front of goal. She failed to hit the target, though. Shortly before the half-time whistle, Büchner once again denied Union a well-deserved second, pushing Moraitou's long-range shot. The goalkeeper deflected Moraitou's long-range shot with her fingertips against the post, just moments before the referee blew her whistle for half-time.

Union stay in control

After the break, the game carried on the rhythm of the first half, Union controlled the ball while Leipzig sat ever deeper. Dina Orschmann had the first shot of the half after an hour following a corner, but missed the post by inches.

Union's head coach, Eilien Poese made changes, bringing on Sophie Trojahn and Maria Christina Lange, making her competitive debut for Union. And it almost took only a few seconds for Lange to score her first goal, as the former Leipzig player volleyed trojahn's cross a hair's breadth wide.

The substitutions brought an upturn in momentum, especially as Leipzig dared to advance as the game wore on, leaving gaps in their otherwise solid back line. Zita Rurack saw a shot saved by Büchner with 20 minutes to play.

Union pressed on, but in the 80th minute goalkeeper Melanie Wagner had to intervene for the first time, saving Silja Bäßler's shot from an acute angle. Leipzig were buoyed, but they wouldn't find a way through, and the game ended, defined by Frank's single strike.

Views on the game

"The win was because of our hard-work today," said Poese after the final whistle. "We completely dominated the game in the first half and didn't allow any chances on goal. We also came out of the 2nd half very well, but we didn't score the goals and then things got a bit hectic at the end because the opponent had a bit of a scent. In the end, though, we defended well and took the three points."

"We played a solid first half, but floundered a bit in the second," said goalscorer, Frank. "We threw everything at them at the end. It was definitely hard, but we went at them and brought home the win"

The outlook

Next weekend, the Regionalliga Nordost will take a break, resuming on 17.09.2023 with the top of the table clash at home against a similarly unbeaten FC Viktoria 1889 Berlin.