1. FC Union Berlin reached the third round of the DFB Pokal for the first time in their history with a fantastic 1-0 win over the Bundesliga’s RasenBallsport Leipzig. The decisive goal came with Dina Orschmann’s 40th minute winner.
1. FC Union Berlin: Wagner – Sakar, Markou, Becker, Steinert, Metzker – Moraitou (57. Frank), Janz, Heiseler – Halverkamps (64. Abu Sabbah), D. Orschmann (86. Trojahn)
RasenBallsport Leipzig: Herzog – Krug (69. Schmid), Magerl, Pollak (46. Räcke), Müller – Andrade (89. Dittrich), Starke, Joly, Croatto (77. Z. Werner) – Schimmer (69. Hoffmann), Fudalla
The starting XI
Ailien Poese made just the one change from Union’s fantastic draw in Nuremberg last weekend, starting again with Melanie Wagner in goal. Union’s keeper, herself in for the injured Cara Bösl for the second week in a row, was behind a back three of Marie Becker, Eleni Markou (replacing the injured Katja Orschmann) and Judith Steinert, while Pia Metzker and Fatma Sakar were deployed as wing-backs, left and right, respectively.
The midfield trio was Athanasia Moraitou, Korina Janež and, captain, Lisa Heiseler, while up top were Dina Orschmann and Antonia Halverkamps.
Attendance: 4.186
Goal: 1:0 D. Orschmann (40.)
Union dominate the half, Orschmann finishes from the line
It had been seven years since Lisa Heiseler and Charleen Niesler had both scored in a penalty shootout to see Union reach the second round of the DFB Pokal. But they would lose 6-0 to Wolfsburg in the end, and it felt like a different century, a different world. Things are different today, even if, just as then, Union were a 2. Liga side taking on a Bundesliga one in Leipzig. Even if the guests were still considered by most as favourites.
Ailien Poese had said it herself in her press conference, Union were “underdogs” going into this.
Underdogs? They didn’t play like it.
Her side were irrepressible. They started strongly, not giving their guests a minute’s silence, snapping into tackles like they were possessed, as they would all day. Dina Orschmann beat Sandra Starke within seconds of the kick off, she then chased Marlene Müller, forcing her backwards up the line, winning a free kick that Korina Janež hit into the box, towards Union’s talisman. It was well worked, meticulously planned, and the start of a move that saw Pia Metzker almost ghost onto a cross towards the back post.
Heiseler attacked Julia Magerl as she tried to play out from the back, Steinert did the same, though nearer the other end.
The heat was relentless, and so were Union, but Leipzig had the first shot after only five minutes when Wagner parried Andrade’s stabbed shot from close range, showing a cool head and strong hands. It wasn’t the last we’d see of them.
But Union were undaunted. Metzker played an overlapping Orschmann in down the left, her cross mishit by Halverkamps down into the ground and pushed wide for a corner. Union had seen two before that already.
Orschmann was everywhere, next popping up on the right where she almost slipped Sakar in as she ran into the box, but Union were also proving to be strong at the back and superbly organised. Markou robbed Michela Croatto, before her international teammate, Moraiotu, did the same on Lou-Ann Joly.
Union were too much for their guests and Heiseler almost capitalised on a slip from Joly, caused purely by Union’s pressure; Leipzig looked shell-shocked, as if they hadn’t expected this, especially when Moraitou caught them flat-footed at a free kick, finding Orschmann who had snuck round the back like a cat burglar.
Victoria Krug had to sprint to get Janez’s low cross into the box before Halverkamps could get onto it, then Elvira Herzog saved Metzker’s first time shot. Krug had to be there a moment later after Orschmann, again, had played in Heiseler this time, and Sakar hit the rebound over.
The jeers that followed Starke’s late challenge on Oschmann – when Halverkamps had received a yellow card, minutes earlier for what looked from the stands to be a slighter challenge – were deafening. She eventually rose to the applause of the crowd of over 4,000 on the Gegengerade, sheltering from the blistering heat in its deepest recesses, their voices echoing out.
With half an hour played it was still goalless, and the game had settled down a little, with Leipzig starting to see a little more of the ball, but even then, as they stepped up, Marie Becker made two wonderful challenges in the space of a minute to stop them getting a sight of goal; just as Markou was in exactly the right place to intercept the ball before it reached Müller’s clever diagonal run. Wagner did even better when she slid out to grab the ball ahead of Müller again with eight minutes still to play.
But these were outliers. For Poese, everything was going largely as she intended. “Our plan was to keep Leipzig high up the pitch and press, which worked wonderfully,” she said. “In general, everything we set out to do worked out today.”
And soon enough Union’s dominance would pay off. Joly brought down Heiseler, halfway into her own half with five minutes to play.
It was a late tackle, but also one in the most dangerous of positions. Indeed, Union had scored against Gütersloh in the first round from almost exactly the same place. As then, Moraitou hit the set-piece long, swinging towards Markou at the back post who headed firmly over Herzog, the ball dropping to Orschmann who only had to be there to knock it over the line.
The stadium erupted, they couldn’t believe their eyes. But was as utterly deserved as it was well worked.
If Cara Bösl had been the hero between the posts in the first round, then this was Wagner’s time to shine. She made a wonderful double save from Schimmer, who had suddenly found herself free, darting in alone towards goal, and then Vanessa Fudalla, whose follow up was palmed away by the Union stopper, somehow back on her feet.
The half time whistle came just after Union had won another free kick in the Leipzig half, but this one was to be taken by Heiseler, with four other teammates staying back. There was no need to rush.
Leipzig reduced to half-chances, Union are superb
After Joly had tried to thread a neat pass through towards Fudalla with five minutes of the second half played, the ball already safe in Wagner’s hands as it would be all day, Moraitou and Janež both gestured to their teammates. They put their palms down. Take it easy, they said. Take your time.
But they were ready to spring the trap when needed, and it came as Orschmann flicked a pass onto Halverkamps. Union’s striker took it in her stride but only drew a good stop from Herzog as she held off a defender on either side of her.
The heat was now sapping the strength of both sides, and Poese made her first change only ten minutes in as Moraitou trudged off to be replaced by Celine Frank, another remainder from that 2017 side. Frank did brilliantly with almost her first touch, lifting the ball over Croatto and laying it off with the minimum of fuss.
Later on, she would find Orschmann who somehow let fly from way out on the right, falling backwards, the ball dropping implausibly close to the back post, God only knowing how she managed to get that much pace on it at all.
Then, while Sarah Abu Sabbah came on after an hour for the tiring Halverkamps, Becker was still patrolling the box, winning every header, making up for her lack of pace with her intelligence, seeing gaps before they opened up behind her, always aware.
Leipzig were starting to look ragged, losing their patience, and even when Krug had a throw-in, halfway inside Union’s half, she had no options, nowhere to go. She dallied, looking for a player unmarked, but there were none to be seen as the whistles from the stands grew all around her. In the end she was called for a foul throw. She’d let them all fluster her.
As Moraitou said after the final whistle, “We didn’t give them any room to breathe today, kept pressing and deserved this win.”
When Fudalla couldn’t pick out Andrade on the right her frustration showed. They were struggling, and Nina Räcke saw yellow as Abu Sabbah skipped gleefully past her with fifteen minutes to play, the Leipzig substitute grabbing at her shirt as her teammates grasped for air.
They came back. Räcke flicked a header on goal that went out for a corner, again cleared by the superb Frank, staying calm when all around her were flailing towards the dropping ball.
But Union stuck to their strengths, and Janež tried to find Markou with another free kick that the skipper, Heiseler, leading by huge example, had won, and even when Fudalla finally got one in a good spot with five minutes to play at the other end she scooped it well over the bar.
Oschmann too was incredible, and there were huge calls for a penalty when she went down under a challenge from Herzog, having somehow beaten two defenders to a ball that seemed long gone, and tricked her way around the keeper, ending up in a heap, not far from the penalty spot.
The catcalls were transformed to roars as she was substituted straight after. She had more than done her job, but the magnificent crowd had fulfilled their part of the bargain, too, and Poese acknowledged as much later, saying “We knew that the fans and the stadium would carry us.”
Heiseler was still there though, following up her clever pass that was cleared before Sakar could get to it with a neat shot from range.
She had summed up her side’s play, as did the tackles that Frank continued to make in the middle, as they refused to allow their top-flight guests the ball.
And as Herzog came up for a final throw of the dice – a free kick that was belted away by Markou – you could see by the drained looks on their faces that they knew it was up.
But this was more than an underdog story. Union had never reached the third round of the cup. This was historic.