There are still things you can rely on in life, and the home strength of 1. FC Union Berlin seems to be one of them in the 2023 calendar year. In the snow flurries in Köpenick, the Unioners came to a home win against TSG 1899 Hoffenheim on Saturday, which in the end did the game very justice – because the Unioners remembered all the virtues in the second half that made their team a permanent guest in the top third of the table to have. Union will end Matchday 16 with 30 points in third place, behind leaders Bayern Munich (35) and Frankfurt Eintracht, who also have 30 points. In the arithmetic of the Union coach Urs Fischer, only ten points are missing to reach the goal of the season of non-relegation. They would be completed if Union maintained the nimbus that has existed since February 2022 of being unbeaten at home.
The truth of what happened at the An der Alten Försterei stadium also includes the fact that Hoffenheim got off to a more mature, better start in the game – and thanks to the extremely interesting starting eleven debutant Tom Bischof, 17, almost took the lead after little more than seven minutes. The offensive player with the princely name and the face of an acolyte did not hit the ball properly. Union on the other hand? Strived, but without the ultimate consequence in the offensive actions. The main result of this was the excellent opportunity to take the lead that US striker Jordan Siebatcheu missed.
After a bizarre handball from Ihlas Bebou in the penalty area, the referee decided on a penalty – but Jordan, who had confidently converted every penalty in training on the previous days, as coach Urs Fischer later revealed, put the ball on the post (25th). Bebou took a deep breath and finally took a deep breath. Because after a quick counterattack by Hoffenheim initiated by Bischof over three stations, Bebou finished extremely dry in the 43rd minute to give the guests a 1-0 lead.
But the drought finally settled in the old forester’s house. The snowfall intensified, eventually acquiring the same crushing relentlessness with which Union uses the crowd to pin their opponents to the wall. After a really good first half, Union “bought the guts from his team in the second half with mentality and bite,” stated guest coach Andre Breitenreiter. And the gates fell like feathers from a tumbled ceiling.
Doekhi scores twice from a Trimmel cross
The two goals with which Union turned the game followed exactly the same knitting pattern. Captain Christopher Trimmel played David Beckham again and circled two corner balls from the left into the penalty area (73’/89′); Central defender Danilo Doekhi, 24, ran up and headed the ball into the net with the same force he had used to secure a last-minute win against Borussia Mönchengladbach a few weeks ago.
“Two simple standard goals shouldn’t fall like that, we have to defend that harder and more intensively,” complained Breitenreiter. Substitute Jamie Leweling (90+6) set the final point. And even if Hoffenheim and their coach Breitenreiter understandably complained that the referee should have decided it was offside before the corner kick to make it 2-1 against Union, the impression remained that Union “deserved to win because of this dominant second half “Had, as Union coach Fischer said. “The team showed their mentality, they were tireless.”
Ryerson’s departure caused a brief period of sadness at Union
This was all the more remarkable as something like signs of depression had spread in Köpenick in the past few days. The reason: Julian Ryerson’s surprising departure. The Norwegian, who has now moved on to Borussia Dortmund, is one of the players who operate under the Unionern under the label “Aufstiegsheld” because they were in the second division. Ex-Unioner Grischa Prömel, who is suffering from the consequences of a broken ankle, was able to experience the bond this leads to on Saturday.
Today’s Hoffenheimer came to visit in civilian clothes and was celebrated as the “football god” by his former fans in the Alte Försterei. It’s quite possible, even likely, that Ryerson will be greeted in a similar way when he returns to Koepenick. Even if someone once made him forget. Because Ryerson is to be replaced by a galactic access by Union standards. At the weekend it was said that the Croatian world championship driver Josip Juranovic (Celtic Glasgow) has the best cards to replace Ryerson.
