Union Beat Meppen

1. FC Union Berlin’s women’s team continued their fantastic season with a 2-1 victory over SV Meppen on Sunday afternoon at the Alte Försterei. Having gone an early goal down to Laura Bröring’s strike, Lisa Heiseler and Celine Frank both scored to put them up to 2^nd in the table.

1. FC Union Berlin: Bösl – Markou, Becker, Steinert – Sakar (88. Reissner), Janez, Frank (74. Weiß), Moraitou, Metzker – D. Orschmann (74. Blaschka), Heiseler (61. Halverkamps)

SV Meppen: Farwick – Bleil, Göppel, Rolfes, Zimmer (46. Kropp) – Licina, Mauly, Kossen (68. Preuss) – Nagy (80. Miyoshi), Bröring, Seyen

The starting XI

Returning from her sick bed, Ailien Poese made only one personnel change from the side that had started in Ingolstadt before the international break – though structurally, things looked a little bit different. In goal was Cara Bösl, behind a back three of Eleni Markou, Marie Becker and Judith Steinert, flanked by the wing backs, Fatma Sakar – fresh from her international debut for Turkey, and Pia Metzker.

In the centre of midfield were Celine Frank, making only her second league start of the season, alongside Korina Janež and Athanasia Moriatou, allowing Lisa Heiseler to step up into attack alongside Dina Orschmann.

Attendance: 5.017

Goals: 0-1 Bröring (4.), 1-1 Heiseler (15.), 1-2 Frank (40.)

Meppen make an early breakthrough – Heiseler’s missed penalty doesn’t thwart Union’s comeback

After final whistle blew on a superb performance, Celine Frank, decorated in the traditional golden card crown, as has been handed out since the Fritz-Lesch days to the player of the match, blew out her cheeks with a delighted smile.

Frank said it had been a “very combative game” – one that she had been central to – and she and her team-mates needed every ounce of strength they had to come away with the three points and second place in the 2. Liga. “Meppen threw themselves into every tackle”, she continued, “but we held out very well”.

And didn’t they just. Her coach, Ailien Poese, described their guests as being “very aggressive and robust”.

Yet, this was somehow incongruous to the setting at first. A stunning Autumn sun was bursting through the corners of the Alte Försterei, vividly showing up the lines on the freshly re-laid pitch, lighting up the over 5,000 fans on the Gegengerade. It is easy to forget how used this club have grown to the astonishing support in their home since promotion as well as the move to the main stadium, but here it was once more in full flow.

Meppen would sour their start to the game almost as quickly as it had begun – they scored with their first attacking break of the game. Ayleen Seyen ran onto a long diagonal ball which landed inside the left channel. Her shot beat Cara Bösl, but cannoned back off the back post, only for Laura Bröring to follow up and stroke the ball home to give the guests the lead after only three minutes on the clock.

Meppen’s lead was not to be brushed aside – they had clearly decided that attack was the best form of defence here, as shown when centre-back Lena Göppel stepped up and robbed an unwitting Dina Orschmann from behind, setting Virag Nagy away down the right wing.

Union were finding little time to settle into the match and Lisa Heiseler was forced backwards when she picked the ball up in midfield, having come searching for it. Her ball back to Judith Steinert, under immense pressure, was cooly done and the experienced defender took it on the turn, attempting to set Pia Metzker away.

If they were finding little space on the ball, Union’s season thus far had been defined by their excellent quality from set-pieces – at the fifteen-minute mark, the next masterpiece was on full display with the greatest of successes.

The industrious and forever-battling Frank was fouled on the edge of the box as she drifted out towards the right-hand side. Athanasia Moraitou stood over the ball, but was joined by her captain, Heiseler. The conversation was detailed and clear, even if behind cupped hands. Heiseler jogged off, towards the back post, yet suddenly changed direction, unseen, to where Moraitou was already sliding the perfectly weighted, rolled free kick. It was all Heiseler had to do to be free on goal and slam the ball past the helpless Thea Farwick for the equaliser.

With eight more minutes played, they almost repeated the same trick – this time from the opposite side and without the dummy run, as Moraitou lofted the ball, again to Heiseler, but this time Farwick got down in time to stop her powerful drive towards the near post.

Heiseler was in the thick of things – it was only a matter of time until her next moment of drama was looming.

By this time, Union were now all over Meppen, and won a penalty as Heiseler went down inside the box. She sprung quickly up to her feet, swiftly collecting the ball for the resulting spot-kick. She placed the ball low and to Farwick’s right-hand side, however the keeper picked correctly and managed to get down in time to claw the ball away.

Fatma Sakar would have the next attempt, as Union turned the screw, this time driving in from her familiar left-hand berth and dragging her shot across goal and wide of the back post as it swung back away from goal.

Dina Orschmann meanwhile was having quite the battle with Göppel, bouncing off her robust challenge – which earned the Meppen player a yellow card one minute, and getting one back on her opponent, this time fairly, the next.

Sakar, fresh from her international debut in midweek for Turkey, was always offering an option, always looking to attack with the ball at her feet and finding the space to attack more frequently up the right-hand side – she fired only an inch wide of the near post at the 35-minute mark.

Meppen attacked once again – their press repeatedly working wonders, as Selma Licina charged down Moraitou, yet she found herself crowded out as she entered the box and the frustrated Moraitou won the ball back cleanly.

Suddenly Union broke again – this time Frank desperately chased the longest of balls down, somehow coming out with it as Göppel and Nina Rolfes challenged her and Farwick found herself stranded on the back foot. Union’s midfielder was as cool as anything as she took the ball past Meppen’s stopper and chipped it into the now empty net with 40-minutes played to give Union the lead.

It was her first goal of the season – her last coming in the last game of the last one when she bagged a brace against Bischofswerda – this one was more than fully deserved.

Meppen were not to be cowed, but Union were extremely strong at the back – led by the superb Marie Becker, whose challenge on Nina Zimmer shortly before the break was as tough as it was well-timed. Both crumpled in the heat of the challenge, but Becker was soon up once more, ready to continue the fight.

A battling half sees Orschmann taken off injured, yet Union push-on for the win

Union came whizzing out of the blocks for the second half, as it began with the sight of Sakar, floored by a challenge from Marleen Kropp with her first touch as a second half substitute. Orschmann and Heiseler neatly combined on the edge of the box, only for the captain to be an inch offside – but it was Bösl who had to make the first save, stopping Licina’s firm shot with both palms above her head with five minutes played.

Farwick would make the next, as Moraitou advanced, cutting the ball back for the open Frank – screaming for the ball, her hands wide above her head – who shot from 30 yards, yet could not manage to get enough purchase on the ball to really trouble the Meppen stopper.

Meppen had grown back into the game – both Becker and her partner at the back, Eleni Markou, having made good challenges – the former’s nudge to take the ball away from Kropp was vital, and after the hour mark was up, Heiseler was replaced by Antonia Halverkamps up front. As Göppel was being treated on the pitch, they came together as one halfway inside their own half, reorganising and reassessing what they needed to do in order to maintain their lead.

Göppel and Orschmann again collided with one another, this time they both jumped for Sakar’s diagonal ball into the middle, yet Orschmann went down with a horrifying blow as they clashed heads. She was led off the pitch and rapidly replaced by Anna Weiß, as Anouk Blaschka came on at the same time for Frank.

This meant that Union were now down to ten briefly, as Becker made another fine challenge on Nagy, again back inside her own box – her anticipation putting her in exactly the right place at the right time.

As Meppen used the change in momentum to their advantage, Bösl made another outstanding stop, diving to her right-hand side to stop Seyen’s long distance shot, seemingly out of nowhere, fingertipping it away from the top corner.

Union were coming under increasing pressure as the minutes ticked by, and Poese was keen to point out that her side still aren’t the finished item. “At times, we didn’t manage to get a grip on them properly. That was especially true in the second half. Nevertheless, we got through this phase and defended well enough to hold on to the win”.

The partisan crowd grew louder and louder – they made a magnificent racket, from beginning to end – but still they stood firm, refusing to buckle, and as the sun dipped over the main stand, the final whistle finally blew.

Frank was back on the field, hugging her team-mates at the end, a smile across her face. If the chants ringing around the Alte Försterei were all Eisern – they had most certainly shown their steel.