1. FC Union Berlin’s women’s team came away from a tough trip to Borussia Mönchengladbach with a point on Sunday lunchtime. In a game where the Union defence shone – the game ended goalless, lifting Union back to second in the table.
1. FC Union Berlin: Bösl – Markou, Becker, Steinert – Halverkamps (61. Sakar), Heiseler, Frank, Moraitou, Metzker (79. Reissner) – D. Orschmann, Janez (61. Weiß)
Borussia Mönchengladbach: Palmen – Drissen, Arici, Brietzke, Zielinski (85. Itgenshorst) – van der Drift (85. Kessels), Bartsch, Klensmann (46. van Leeuwe) – Tichelkamp (61. Giesen), Radke, Scholten (70. Corres)
The starting XI
Ailien Poese made only one change to the side that battled valiantly in last week’s 2-1 victory against Meppen. As ever, Cara Bösl started in goal behind a back three of Judith Steinert, Marie Becker and Eleni Markou. The left and right flanks were taken up by Pia Metzker and Antonia Halverkamps – the latter in for the rested Fatma Skar.
Athanasia Moraitou – last week’s winning goal-scorer, Celine Frank and Korina Janež were in midfield, whilst captain – Lisa Heiseler, joined Dina Orschmann up front.
Attendance: 328
Gladbach largely dominant, yet Union’s defence prove too secure in a goalless first half
As Anna Weiß threw herself at Naika Reissner’s cross – the ball rolling through no-man’s-land, its path troubled by neither keeper nor defender – she grimaced as she stretched. For all Union’s wingback tried, she could never make up the extra inch or so to make it.
This game had already increasingly looked as if it would be decided – if at all – by the smallest of things; an uncharacteristic error, a moment of magic; the far-off flapping of a butterfly’s wings. The former was out of question for two sides who refused to buckle to the other’s merits. The latter… Well, sometimes, far off bugs will just, and probably justly in this case, refuse to fly.
Perhaps we should have known as soon as the game kicked off. Out on the right, Antonia Halverkamps was up against an old friend and a new foe in the shape of her former teammate, Yvonne Zielinski. She said it gave her “split feelings”, as they chatted before kick off. But she had to put that quickly aside; Halverkamps enjoys playing on the outside, but here she had her work cut out.
Zielinski has well over 100 Bundesliga appearances under her belt, making her an assured presence on the pitch and theirs would be a battle that summed up the game in many ways. Both excelled in parts, and they came toe-to-toe along the length of the touchline – up and down, up and down, time after time after time. Both frequently cancelled one another out.
However, it was Zielinski’s teammate – Kiki Scholten, who started sharpest, beating Eleni Markou down the left-hand side, somehow scuffing her shot wide of Cara Bösl’s goal. Markou did significantly better a few minutes later when she stopped Yvonne Brietzke in her tracks, standing tall and strong as the hosts attacked.
Gladbach were the better side at first, although they had a problem – that was Marie Becker. Few have performed as well on a regular basis in the league this season, and once again, she was as solid as a rock – her innate timing and intelligence on the pitch made up for the certain lack of pace in her legs compared to some of her teammates.
She is the North Star to which her partners at the back, Judith Steinert and Markou, can align themselves to.
Her tackle on Kristina Bartsch at the twenty-minute mark was a masterclass in being in the right place at the right time. Inside the box, all she had to do was make the block – there was no panic, no need to rush into anything. Her sliding challenging on Laura Radke, just a minute later, was almost as good.
The Grenzlandstadion has a long history and boasts a record attendance of 30,000 once upon a time, but those days are long gone. The smattering of Union fans were largely alone on the long concrete terrace that makes up the Gegengerade – their voices carried across the chilly autumn air, rustling the browning leaves on the running track, brushing over the grass on the unkempt pitch and antiquated running track.
Bösl would not have the busiest of days – even as the hosts refused to give Union any peace on the ball, having seen Meppen’s measured success with the tactic last weekend. Unsurprisingly, it was the Union stopper who made the first save of the day as she stood tall to Bartsch’s stabbed effort as she entered the Union six-yard box.
Union came scampering back – Dina Orschmann was floored, just outside the box. Alarm bells were ringing for Gladbach, Union have been deadly with set-pieces this season, but this time Korina Janež couldn’t get enough dip on her free-kick. It was, as counter intuitive as it sounds, almost too close to goal.
Against the run of play, with twenty-two minutes on the clock, Janež turned, looked up and hit a superbly driven low ball into the channel for Dina Orschmann. A lesser player would have been tackled by one of her two markers as she ran onto it, let alone being allowed to almost win it off the Gladbach goalkeeper, Luisa Palmen, but Orschmann’s will is titanic, and she was at the heart of almost all of Union’s attacks during the first half. Having been forced off the pitch against Meppen, she understands just how much she is needed. Though the ball was booted away to safety, she had clearly made her point.
The worrisome looks upon the faces of the fans when she went down under a heavy challenge shortly afterwards told the whole story.
Union upped their game, switching to a back four, with Steinert now given more space to roam – Halverkamps saw her shot deflected wide by Zielinski, before throwing herself into a bicycle-kick from the resulting corner – she only managed to catch the unwitting Sam Drissen in the process, however.
Janež and Orschmann could barely have come closer with half-an-hour played, when Palmen somehow saved the latter’s shot having flapped somewhat at it. It had been a let-off. Pia Metzker came almost as close when she drove a looping header from Orschmann’s out-swinging cross which was clawed out of the air by Palmen.
Union were improving as the half wore on – they had more possession and time on the ball, and in the middle their combinations were beginning to come off; Heiseler and Celine Frank played the ball between one another before the captain set Orschmann off on her way.
Halverkamps, off balance, leaning back, side-footed over the crossbar when found by Orschmann as the first half entered the final five minutes – Union pushed up, Steinert now a constant presence in the host’s half of the pitch.
It counted for little though, as Halverkamps and Zielinski came together for the final time before the break. Tellingly, the ball squirted away from them.
Heiseler wasn’t happy, saying, “we slept through the first half today… we made too many unnecessary bad passes and made it difficult for ourselves”.
Gladbach refuse to buckle to Union’s late pressure
Union were much more incisive as the second half kicked off – Ailien Poese having kept the same 11 on the pitch – and they could well have taken the lead when Janež clipped her shot wide of the back post when she found herself a pocket of space on the edge of the box. They went even closer as Metzker beat Palmen before bearing down on goal, yet her cross/shot drifted across an empty goalmouth, neither finding the head of Dina Orschmann, nor dropping inside the back post. Orschmann then shot over – this time from the left. She howled in frustration, briefly feeling the weight of pressure which she always puts on herself.
However, Gladbach still posed their own threat, and substitute, Kyra Van Leeuwe, shot straight at Bösl when she too could, and should, have done better considering the time she had. Bösl did superbly well when Radke burst free – the keeper racing out to claim the ball from her feet.
Poese made her first changes with an hour played, taking off the luckless Janež and the hard-working Halverkamps – her reunion with Zielinski drawn to a premature close. They were replaced by Fatma Sakar and Anna Weiß. Weiß is a fine player – one much missed during her agonising year-long absence, but her corner kicks can also be devastating. Five minutes after coming on, she hit one, typically high and looping, suddenly dipping towards the back post, yet though she rose high enough to reach the ball, Eleni Markou could not manage to get it on target.
When Steinert latched onto Athanasia Moraitou’s shot-like pass, it seemed as though that magic moment had come. After the Greek international had danced her way into the box, Steinert caught it perfectly, but Palmen again got down to tip her shot just wide of the post.
And, whilst it may not have been as spectacular, Palmen’s stop at the feet of Weiß a moment later was even better – this one the culmination of a move set-up by a superbly spotted pass from Orschmann – she just did not have the time to get her shot off. Orschmann, herself, headed the ensuing corner just wide of goal.
It was now all Union as the clocked ticked by – Moraitou won another free kick with five minutes to play. They tried another variation, as she hit it flat and square for Markou, but once more, the superb Palmen came away with the ball. They came closer still, as Reissner, on for Metzker, tricked her way inside and drove the ball across goal, somehow managing to evade the lunge of Weiß as she darted in at the back post.
Which is where we began our story.
Moraitou lashed a wonderful left-foot effort from 35 yards just past the post as the 90th minute mark passed – as the final whistle sounded, she fell to the grass on her back, her eyes closed and her lungs burning.
Poese cut a frustrated figure after the final whistle. “If we can’t get the ball on target from five metres out in a zone where you just say, “thank you’‘, it’s obviously difficult to win a game”, she said. Yet, conceded the positives of a superb defensive performance at the other end.
It was still a point that would take Union back up to second place in the table.