Union Beat Sand to go Back to the Top

1. FC Union Berlin continued their unbeaten record, and returned to the top of the 2. Liga table, with a 2-1 win over SC Sand on Sunday afternoon. After Dina Orschmann’s accidental early opener, Sarah Abu Sabbah made it 2-0 in the second half. Sanja Homann scored one for the hosts in time added on.

1. FC Union Berlin: Bösl – Weiß, Becker, Steinert – Sakar, Markou, Moraitou (76. Frank), Heiseler (85. Blaschka), Halverkamps (62. Metzker) – Abu Sabbah (62. Trojahn), D. Orschmann (85. Janez)

SC Sand: Baum – Klotz, Zuniga, Landmann, Griß – Kimmig, Bantle (46. Fischer) – Kreil, Takizawa (84. Way), Homann – Bailey-Gayle (63. Matuschewski)

The starting XI

Ailien Poese chose the same line-up for the long trip to Sand that had begun last week’s win over Bayern II. So, it saw cara Bösl in goal behind the back three of Judith Steinert, Marie Becker and Anna Weiß.

Athanasia Moraitou anchored the central midfield three with Eleni Markou and Lisa Heiseler, with Fatma Sakar on the right and Antonia Halverkamps on the left, while Dina Orschmann and Sarah Abu Sabbah were up top.

Attendance: 436

Goals: 0-1 D. Orschmann (8.), 0-2 Abu Sabbah (53.), 1-2 Homann (90.)

Orschmann’s slice of fortune gives Union an early lead

In February 2023 Viktoria beat 1. FC Union Berlin 4-3 via an own goal at the death. It had capped a wonderful game, but it also proved to be a line in the sand that no-one would cross again. The Union players took that one seriously; and though pushed close by SC Sand on Sunday afternoon, they still haven’t lost since.

It is a remarkable record by any standards even if, as Eleni Markou said after the final whistle, “it wasn’t very fancy football…. But you see how far you are when nothing goes well but you still win.”

The hills in the distance loomed dark against a perfect Autumn Sunday for football, but this had and would be be the longest trip of Union’s 2. Liga season.

The pitch, too, was strewn with muddy patches and the ball rolled only as if under duress. It bobbled like a cheap toy and it was Sand who had the first shot, as they countered through Sanja Homann, but Giulina Kimmig could only hit her shot straight at Union stopper Cara Bösl.

Union reacted as if stung, with both Antonia Halverkamps and, particularly, Fatma Sakar attacking down the wings. Union tried to move the ball about on the floor, in the middle but it was tricky under the circumstances, and as such it was little surprise that Union’s opener would come from a strike of ludicrous fortune.

Jule Baum tried to clear the ball; she was just playing it out. But Sand’s keeper somehow misjudged her pass and belted it straight at the unwitting Dina Orschmann, the ball bouncing back past the stricken, mortified keeper.

Only six minutes had been played, and now Union pushed on with Sarah Abu Sabbah driving low and hard from distance, just past the far post. They came closer still after 13 minutes when they almost capitalised on an almighty scramble in the goalmouth, the ball somehow refusing to go over, repelled by the spiderweb of limbs on the line.

Sand weren’t going to roll over on their own pitch, though, but when Leonie Kreil squeezed a shot off from the edge of the box, Marie Becker, as always, was there in the way of it, standing tall and strong, an immovable force.

Union had still not conceded since the first day of the season, and her resoluteness showed why, as did the way that Eleni Markou and Athanasia Moraitou got back whenever necessary to get stuck in, rolling their sleeves up as they went.

Even Abu Sabbah was back at times, and her tackle on Kreil was timed like that of a practiced centre-half

When Kreil then found a bit of space later in the half she played in Denise Landmann, but Judith Steinert was there this time to shepherd her away from danger. Before you knew it, they had gone from the edge of the box to near the corner flag, their teeth had been extracted.

Union proved in flashes what they are capable of – that they can also play – and a move started after 25 minutes with Orschmann’s neat backheel, that went via Sakar, Markou, Moraitou, Heiseler and back again proving a case in point.

Despite the pitch, Union were playing at times as if they could float above it, but they were inconsistent, and as the half wore on they found themselves increasingly chasing the ball, almost trying too hard to make things happen when they had it.

With almost half an hour almost played it was close to two, as Orschmann robbed the ball in a slumbering midfield, bursting forward before setting Abu Sabbah away down the inside right. Last season’s top scorer turned inside, and chose to beat another marker before shooting, but she couldn’t get any power on the ball when she did. It dribbled wide of the back post.

Sand were far from rolling over, with Kreil at the heart of their best moves, but too often they were reduced to shooting from distance, rather that than run into Union’s brick wall of a back three.

Centre-back, Denise Landmann, however came close with almost 40 minutes played when her header from a deep corner flew inches over Bösl’s bar, while at the other end, Orschmann brought down by Jenna Zuniga as she tried to bustle and muscle her way through the middle again.

Abu Sabbah makes it two before Homann claws one back for the hosts

Sand started the second half in a rush, and Kimmig was unlucky not to get her head on the ball after Homann’s cross from the right.

Homann then won a corner off Steinert, as they pushed Union back, but Union countered through Halverkamps, and then, shortly after Abu Sabbah was a whisker away from Markou’s clever through ball, it was through another deep cross that Union would extend their lead.

This time it came from Anna Weiß, hitting it into the six-yard-box where Abu Sabbah got in just ahead of Baum to head home. In doing so there was a sickening clash between the pair, and both lay down motionless for what felt like an age afterwards.

Eventually though play restarted, and it wasn’t long until Union had more chances, but somehow Orschmann slipped her shot past the back post, and Abu Sabbah saw her cheeky lob cleared off the line by Tabea Griß.

It was close to the striker’s last touch, as she was soon replaced by Sophie Trojahn, while Pia Metzker came on for the hard-working Halverkamps.

Metzker entered in a blaze, her beautiful right footed shot leaving Baum flat-footed, but crashing off the bar with 20 minutes to play.

The game seemed to be drifting away after that, Union knowing that it would now take something special to break through their defence, but Homann had something up her sleeve. With 90 minutes already up she wriggled into the box, drifting right towards the penalty spot, evading tackles as she went, before rifling a superb finish past Bösl and into the top corner.

With a new burst of life, Sand threw themselves forwards for the final moments, but their breakthrough had come all too late.

Poese was happy enough with the continuation of Union’s record, if not entirely with the performance. “We didn’t do some things as well today as we have in recent weeks,” she said. “The conditions certainly made it difficult, but that’s no excuse. We were a bit more frantic than necessary today, especially in our own possession.”

But, as Markou said, sometimes you just need to win ugly, and the story remained the same as it has all season; indeed, as it has since that Viktoria game in 2023.

You can throw all you like at them. This Union side are just not to be beaten.