Becker’s Double Makes the Difference

1. FC Union Berlin: Grill (Busk) – Maciejewski (Trimmel), Jaeckel (Bruns), Doekhi (Knoche), Puchacz (37. Jurschik) – Öztunali, Seguin (Leite), Haberer (Khedira), Skarke (Pantovic) – Michel (Becker), Siebatcheu (Behrens)

FC Hansa Rostock: Kolke (46. Hagemoser) – Ananou (46. Malone), van Drongelen, Roßbach (46. Meißner), Strauß (46. Horn) – Rhein (46. Schröter), Fröde (46. Thill) – Fröling (46. Dressel), Duljevic (46. Ingelsson), K. Schumacher (46. Donggyeong) – Munsy (74. Die)

Attendance: 11,931

Goals: Becker 1-0 (56), Becker 2-0 (60)

A cold, goalless, imprecise first half

Union hadn’t played Hansa Rostock in over a decade, not since the wild 5-4 win at the Alte Försterei in which they were 2-0 down after ten minutes, and 3-2 up before half an hour had yet been played. But then there had always been a certain import to these games. It’s by no means a derby, but there is a curious, longstanding familiarity. Hansa were the first team Union ever played in the DDR’s Oberliga after their founding in 1966, and as such were the first they scored against; as they were the last team Union would score against in that old top flight, after the country itself had already collapsed.

So maybe it was just because they’d been starved of football over a curiously long break for the game, but maybe it was also in this that lay the reason why there were 12,000 people in the Alte Försterei on a freezing Wednesday afternoon to see the grand old clubs meet each other again. They chattered, greeting old friends as the sun set over the forest in a cascade of glorious peach-hewn sky.

They would see the debut of young Linus Jurschik, plucked out of the U-19’s into left-back, replacing Tymoteusz Puchacz before the break. He was fresh faced and a little nervous looking as he rushed to take a quick throw. Danilho Doekhi told him to take his time, there’s no stress, he said, motioning with his hands to take it easy. He’s hardly an old hand, himself, but he has a wise head.

But it was brutally cold, and the signs were there that this was the first test any of the players had had in weeks. It was littered with small errors, strewn with heavy touches on a pitch, frosted silver like it had been decorated for a retirement party. Rostock won a free kick as Haris Duljevic went down just outside the box, dead centre. He took it himself, hitting the strike so weakly it rolled at the feet of Union’s pensive wall almost with a guilty shrug.

Ridge Munsy’s later shot was so wide it didn’t even make it as far as going out for a throw.

They’d do better later on, forcing a sharp save from Lennart Grill on 40 minutes as Hansa had their first sustained period of pressure.

But when they were strongest it was when Union attacked down the left. Tim Skarke full of awareness, setting up a neat one-two with Jordan Siebatcheu who back-heeled the ball in return. Puchacz was a blur of heads-down, bustling, trcky intent before his premature withdrawal. Tracking back he barged over Nils Fröling, then he barged over Duljevic, a grin on his face a mile wide as he did so, too. Sven Michel somehow hit the ball over when it came in from the right when it would have been harder to score.

They pushed up, switching to a back four with Tim Maciejewski on the right. Doekhi flashing a half-volley over from Jordan’s knock-down. Paul Seguin establishing himself as the heartbeat of the side at the heart of midfield next to Janik Haberer who’d slipped inside to make space for Skarke. And all the while Levin Öztunali strived on the right to make an impression, he crossed for Michel but his headed lay-off was imprecise.

As was much of everything.

Becker changes the game

Urs Fischer changed everyone up for the second half, apart from Öztunali desperately trying to play his way into some form, but nothing he tried would quite come off. He’s got the technique to be a beautiful player, but he just needed a slice of fortune. He flashed a first-time shot just after the re-start, the resulting corner falling to him again eventually, but again his well struck shot flew wide.

Union looked more comfortable with a back three, with the 18 year old Mathis Bruns next to Diogo Leite and Robin Knoche, with Khedira holding in front of them. Bruns has a rangy stride, a confident air, and stepped up nicely, finding Behrens with a simple ball. It was also nice to see Jakob Busk get his first start for some time in goal, and he made it count with a great stop from Luca Horn with quarter of an hour to go. Busk is Union’s second longest serving player, and he’s talked of how he’s prepared for this moment, how he’s always ready.

Such is the life of a reserve keeper, he proved his professionalism with aplomb.

But it would be the usual faces who turned the game on its head. After 55 minutes Sheraldo Becker made the breakthrough after a superb, flat, bending Christopher Trimmel cross from the right wing. He’d started the move himself from inside, finding his captain before starting his run forwards. He raced onto it in the box without breaking stride, volleying home with his left instep.

He was keen, despite the cold, despite the nature of the tie, hitting a drive at the the Hansa keeper just a minute later. Then he doubled his tally after some more nice play from Trimmel and Khedira, this time, with another left footed shot that took a slight deflection on its way in. In five minutes he’d scored two, a whirlwind laying waste to a trailer park.

He would miss out on a deserved hat-trick, hitting the post with just over five minutes to go when he ghosted past a dozing Thomas Meissner and Union’s own Rick van Drongelen – who had played well on his return to the Alte Försterei at the centre of Hansa’s defence – he rolled his shot past the keeper only to see it bounce back off the right hand upright.

Hansa tried to get back into things. Svante Ingelsson shot just wide, and was then pulled back by Diogo Leite who had slipped on the frozen, rutted pitch, but nothing would come of it. It was growing trecherous out there as the temperatures plunged. Jurschik broke up the left wing but his step betrayed him as he burst forward.

The referee needed no warning to call time, blowing his whistle as soon as the the clock hit 90 minutes. But it had been a welcome return, a cause for a thaw on a bitterly cold evening.