Jonas Hector’s dropouts make Union Berlin cheer
Steffen Baumgart was unable to take any points with him when he returned to the Alte Försterei. The coach lost with 1. FC Köln at Union Berlin. His team still had a decisive part in the winning goal.
Dhe 1. FC Union Berlin got in the mood for the explosive capital derby with a win. The one-time crowd favorite Steffen Baumgart suffered at the start of the 28th match day of the Bundesliga: The ex-Union player lost 0-1 (0-0) as a coach with 1. FC Köln on Friday evening and thus also put a damper on the fight for the international business. Thanks to the second win – in the eighth game – since the departure of top scorer Max Kruse, the Unioner passed Cologne with 41 points in the table.
The only goal came after a bad pass from ex-national player Jonas Hector. In front of 22,012 spectators in the An der Alten Försterei stadium, which was full for the first time since November, Taiwo Awoniyi took the opportunity to score his twelfth goal of the season in the 49th minute.
“We lost by a mistake that can happen. Something like this happens to you once a year. I haven’t seen anything else from Union. We couldn’t really assert ourselves up front either. But I think everyone would have gone home 0-0 here today.”
Evening game, floodlights and finally a full house again. Since the derby win against Hertha on November 20th, the Irons have had to wait for their special stadium experience due to the corona restrictions that have been lifted in Berlin since Friday. It was correspondingly atmospheric, including pyrotechnics and frenetic support.
Back again: The people of Cologne received a lot of support in Berlin
Source: Getty Images/Boris Streubel
And the people from Köpenick almost gave their fans a dream start. But after a fine pass from Sheraldo Becker after 58 seconds, Awoniyi missed the ball, otherwise the Nigerian would have been through freely. The game didn’t give up many chances. Becker from a tight angle (25′) and Rani Khedira with a long-range shot next to the goal (35′) were Berlin’s best actions in the first half.
Modeste’s failure is noticeable
The game was characterized by struggle and passion, which FC trainer Baumgart exemplified on the sidelines – of course in a T-shirt at temperatures just above freezing point. It was a special game for the popular ex-Unioner, after all his family still lives in Köpenick. His Cologne team, however, lacked the penetrating power. The short-term absence of the sick striker Anthony Modeste made itself felt, FC acted much too harmless. Jonas Hector’s best chance also came about by chance (39′).
Also dangerous on the other side: Cologne’s Jonas Hector fails to goalkeeper Frederik Rönnow
Source: Getty Images/Boris Streubel
And it was Hector who put his team behind. After a nasty back pass to Awoniyi’s feet, the striker gratefully accepted the gift and scored the opener.
With his twelfth goal of the season, he equaled the Bundesliga club record set by current Cologne player Sebastian Andersson from the 2019/20 season. The Swede in the FC jersey was lost at his old place of work. But there was no more rebellion from his colleagues either, so the eighth defeat of the season was inevitable.
