Union’s women host 1. FFC Fortuna Dresden

On Sunday, 27.08.2023, the women’s team of 1. FC Union Berlin will play their first home match of the nascent Regionalliga season when they host the recently promoted 1. FFC Fortuna Dresden. Kick off at the Fritz-Lesch-Sportplatz in Dörpfeldstraße is at 14:00.

The opponents

Fortuna have only just returned to the Regionalliga Nordost following a four-year absence, having played in the division from 2009 to 2019, but finding themselves relegated to the Sachsen Landesliga in the 2018/19 season as a result of a major trimming of the squad. There, head coach Steve Maschik, who has been on the touchlines since 2018, has now formed a new, young largely using players from the club’s own youth system.

In 2021/22, Dresden secured the Landesliga title, although they still did not win promotion. Last season, however, Fortuna Dresden finally felt ready to return to the Regionalliga and again declared the championship as their goal. But at Christmas, they were seven points behind local rivals Chemnitzer FC. Thanks to an impressive second half, with ten wins in eleven games, Fortuna were ultimately able to move to the top of the table. Dresden also mastered the subsequent relegation play-offs against HSG Warnemünde (7-2) and Berolina Mitte (2-1) with relative ease. The two best teams of the round, consisting of the representative of the Berlin-Liga, the AOK-Verbandsliga from Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and the Landesliga Sachsen, were promoted to the third-class Regionalliga Nordost.

Fortuna Dresden were able to carry this strong form into the new Regionalliga season beating Bischofswerdaer FV 2-1 in the Saxony derby, despite being a goal down at half-time. Fortuna ‘s last defeat in league play was almost a year ago. Their last loss was in October 2022.

Balance

Due to the fact that both clubs played together in the Regionalliga for many years, the duel now has a considerable history. 1. FC Union Berlin and 1. FFC Fortuna Dresden have faced each other a total of 21 times. Union have won 13 of these, two have ended in draws and Dresden have come out on top six times. The last meeting in May 2019 ended with a 6-0 victory for Union’s women.

View ahead of the match

“We are looking forward to our first home match in the league and expect Dresden, as a promoted team, to be highly motivated at Dörpfeldstraße, said Union’s head coach, Ailien Poese. “We’ve had an intensive week of training, so we’ll be well prepared for the game.”

Service info

Kick off on Sunday at the Fritz-Lesch-Sportplatz in Dörpfeldstraße is at 14:00. Admission is free.