Dina Orschmann Stuns Jena

Union’s women’s team overcame a first half deficit with two goals in time added on by Dina Orschmann to beat FC Carl Zeiss Jena II, 2-1. Union had gone a goal down to Johanna Seifert’s 29^th minute strike, but fought and fought until the remarkable scenes at the end to keep their 100 percent record in the Regionalliga Nordost.

1. FC Union Berlin: Wagner – K. Orschmann (90+6. Scheel), Becker, Niesler – Sakar, Blaschka (76. Rurack), Görsdorf (64. Frank), Heiseler, Reissner (46. Bach) – Abu Sabbah, D. Orschmann

FC Carl Zeiss Jena II: Kiontke – Wildner, Hof, Berk (59. Wichmann), Klug (75. Koch) – Börner (71. Kasper), Adam, Groß, Seifert (59. Wriske) – Krafczyk (46. Mehler), Leberecht

Goals: 0-1 Seifert (29.), 1-1 D. Orschmann (90+3.), 2-1 D. Orschmann (90+5.)

Attendance: 300

In her bare feet Anouk Blaschka was chewing her nails on the bench as the clock ticked past 90 minutes, and Union still a goal down. They had missed chances, certainly, but their deficit had more to do with the utter resolution shown by their guests, for whom Stefanie Klug at centre half and Union’s former fullback, Luise Wildner, particularly shone.

But within moments she was up onto her toes, joined by the whole bench and coaching staff, united in joy, and in utter disbelief at the turnaround, led by the magnificent Orschmann whose goals in the 92^nd and 95^th minute would be decisive. This Union side will never shy away from the fact that they enjoy a level of structure and support that is the envy of the rest of the league, but even so, all the professionalisation in the world won’t buy you the determination that they showed.

Ailien Poese had shuffled her cards before kick off, choosing to play three at the back, with Marie Becker, Katja Orschmann and Charleen Niesler behind a midfield anchored by Lisa Görsdorf, and the immediate pressure they out Jena under was largely up the wings where Naika Reissner and Fatma Sakar were hugging their respective touchlines, dragging their guests as wide as they could.

But the signs were there to see early on that Jena weren’t here to be rolled over. They hustled whoever had possession, such as when Anna Marie Krafczk bundled Sakar over in the opening minutes, and packed their own half with four at the back and two deep midfielders.

Union swarmed at them initially, but their final ball somehow never made it through the increasingly small gaps on the pitch, and if there was ever a sign needed of the pain they would have to go through, it was in the sight of Sarah Abu Sabbah, floored by a ball that she caught full in the face as she lay prone on the ground following a foul as she tried to burst into the box.

She struggled back to her feet and shook herself down to applause from the strong crowd, enjoying a beautiful day at the Fritz Lesch Sportplatz. Something unflappably similar would be seen later, when Becker slightly misjudged a defensive header from a high ball with ten minutes to play, it catching her on the brige of the nose painfully. She tested it, she winced – it wasn’t bleeding – but won the next one without batting an eyelid.

Union carried on, Abu Sabbah, herself, at the heart of a lovely move alongside Dina Orschmann and Blaschka that saw Wildner deny Orschmann’s shot, throwing herself at the ball just before it crossed the line. Wildner was superb all day, a point to prove against her former club, but that was something else.

Her performance deserved far more than to be remembered for the shot she whipped past and across Mel Wagner in the Union goal, that crashed off the post with 40 minutes played.

But by that point Jena had already taken the lead, a move she was at the start of, as suddenly Johanna Seifert found herself free and bursting into the inside right channel. She steadied herself, readied herself, and placed a composed, right footed finish past Wagner.

The Jena Keeper, Laura Kiontke, too, was having an excellent day. She saved from Blaschka and Orschmann in the first half; every time she held the ball, taking it to ground and clutching it preciously. Her stop from Marie Becker’s powerful header – Becker’s “my ball” could be heard a mile away as she steamed in to meet it – was excellent. But Klug was the star of the show, and when she wasn’t throwing herself in front of everything that came her way, she was barrelling her way down the right.

After half an hour it took the powerfully dismissive shoulder of Heiseler to send her away into the hoardings.

Before the half was up there was time for Reissner to see her side-footed shot roll agonisingly wide of the back post having glided past two and Dina Orschmann blazed a waist height volley over the bar from the edge of the box, and Union’s misfortune would continue past the break. They were certain they’d scored when Latoya Bach, on for Reissner, found Dina Orschmann in the box with a lovely ball over the top. Dina finished, but to her great indignation, was flagged offside.

These were the few moments when Klug hadn’t got in the way, as was more often than not the case. She blocked further shots from Abu Sabbah (a glorious piece of control preceeding it as she chested Katja Orschmann’s long ball), from Heiseler and Blaschka, and again from Dina Orschmann when she seemed certain to be able to finish in the crowd in the box.

Poese made a tactical switch as the second half wore on, moving to four at the back and pushing Katja Orschmann further forward, from where she was certain she had a penalty, having danced past three players into the box, the ball at her toe. She couldn’t believe it, she spread her arms out. She would see further shots saved by Kiontke, one after another superb ball by a Becker who continued the excellent form she showed against Viktoria a fortnight ago; another, again, well stopped by the keeper, to her left this time.

By now, Union were encamped in the Jena half, trying to speed up every throw in, every free kick, and the crowd were left wondering if it was ever going to happen at all, especially when Abu Sabbah dinked a perfect pass over the tiring Jena backline onto the head of the towering Zita Rurack, but again it was chalked off for offside.

Poese stood still, cool as ever in grey T-shirt and black shorts, her arms folded, while the rest of the Union bench were incandescent. They couldn’t believe their eyes. She merely trusted hers. Maybe she knew something no-one else knew. Maybe she just trusted her team. With Dina Orschmann with that look in her eye, anything could still happen.

First 90 minutes had been played, then 91 and still she was there, still her arms were folded, when Dina Orschmann let a neat chipped pass drop infront of her, burying it for the equaliser. Within three more minutes Orschmann had scored the implausible winner, and chaos was all around.

The bench emptied and the green hill behind the touchline erupted, and the players danced with each other, one bare footed, most not, as if they’d never won a game before.

As she left the pitch Orschmann said “sorry it took so long,” with an exhausted smile on her face, but she needn’t have. For all her accomplishments so far this season, this one was the finest.