Union defeated by Feyenoord

admin tarafından yayınlandı

30 July 2023, 14:15 yayınlandı

1. FC Union Berlin lost 1-2 at home to Feyenoord in the fourth match of Group E in the UEFA Europa Conference League.

Union managed to go in at half-time level after Christopher Trimmel’s superb strike on 41 minutes. Luis Sinisterra had put Feyenoord ahead and substitute Cyril Dessers scored a fortuitous winning goal on 73 minutes.

Urs Fischer’s side left the field with nine men after Trimmel and Cedric Teuchert were sent off by referee Daniel Stefanski.

1. FC Union Berlin: Luthe; Trimmel, Jaeckel (Prömel 77), Friedrich, Knoche, Puchacz (Gießelmann 83); Haraguchi, Khedira (Voglsammer 77), Öztunali (Teuchert 83); Becker (Awoniyi 58), Behrens

Feyenoord: Biljow; Malacia, Senesi (Hendriks 83), Trauner, Geertruida; Til, Kökcu, Aursnes; Sinisterra, Linssen (Dessers 63), Toornstra

Urs Fischer made four changes from last week’s defeat at home to Bayern Munich. Marvin Friedrich, Kevin Behrens, Tymoteusz Puchacz and Levin Öztunali were all restored to the team after sitting out the Bundesliga loss. Union took some minutes early on to adjust to the early pressure of Feyenoord who had the backing of nearly 6,000 travelling supporters. There was a clear zip and energy about the Dutch side with Orkun Körkcü nearly breaking the deadlock after two minutes. Three minutes later, Sheraldo Becker sprinted clear of the Feyenoord backline but was denied by Justin Biljow. Arne Slot’s side kept up the pressure and eventually opened the scoring after a quarter of an hour. Union invited the Dutch side on and failed to clear as Bryan Linssen hit the post and Sinisterra followed up to score the rebound. Crucially, Union were able to put a difficult start behind them as they grew in confidence. Kevin Behrens shot over on 17 minutes before Puchacz steamed into the box but drilled his chance wide on 19 minutes. The home side carried the bit between their teeth for most of the first-half but Biljow’s goal remained untouched. Becker and Genki Haraguchi combined with some neat football but Feyenoord stayed tight. While a lot of action took place in front of Andreas Luthe’s penalty box, the Union goalkeeper was reasonably quiet before the break. Gernot Trauner headed into his arms on 34 minutes in what was a rare Feyenoord push on the Union goal. The Köpenick side improved and took control towards the end of the half at the Olympic Stadium. Great wing play from Puchacz set up Behrens but Marcos Senesi stopped a near certain equaliser. Öztunali tried his luck twice from range but the Feyenoord goalkeeper was on point with his handling despite the difficult conditions on the pitch following heavy rainfall. The team from Rotterdam were eventually pegged back but in classic Trimmel style. Feyenoord scrambled to clear a succession of Union crosses, but Puchacz picked up the loose ball, found the captain on the left-hand side of the pitch. He cut inside and fired a superb strike into the top corner to give Union an important goal going into the interval.

Union came back out for the second half with a good opportunity to put pressure on Feyenoord. The clear chances, however, fell to the away side. A slack back pass sent Bryan Linssen through on goal but Andreas Luthe made a great save on 57 minutes. Taiwo Awoniyi was introduced from the bench a minute later as Union looked for a similar impact as in Mannheim last week. Despite Union’s top scorer being on the pitch, Arne Slot’s team looked more threatening at the other end. Luthe watched as Kökcü shot wide from distance before the Union keeper kept his side in the game with a point-blank save from Dessers on 68 minutes. A key moment in the game was a two-v-one counter-attack in Union’s favour but Feyenoord defender Marcos Senesi snuffed it out and the Dutch club survived. Slippery conditions under foot made it hard for all the players, but Feyenoord got their winning goal on 73 minutes. Union goalkeeper Luthe was unable to stay on his feet in the damp weather and Dessers finished off. Senesi and Geertruida could have both scored for the visitors as Union looked stretched. Things went from bad to worse as Union were cut to 10 men after Trimmel’s second yellow card following some handbags with the Feyenoord players. Referee Stefanski showed substitute Cedric Teuchert a straight red card a minute later as the Dutch side went home with all three points.