Union Berlin started the new Bundesliga year with a win and celebrated a 3-1 win over TSG Hoffenheim.
With a big smile, the unexpected match winner Danilho Doekhi and his teammates from Union Berlin jumped up and down in front of the celebrating and singing fans. Coach Urs Fischer’s team had come back brilliantly from Köpenick in the icy sleet and stormed into a Champions League spot with a 3-1 (0-1) win over TSG Hoffenheim right at the start of the new Bundesliga year.
“It’s a great feeling, I can’t remember the last time I scored two goals in one game,” said Doekhi. The defender turned the game around for Union with his two goals (73’/90′) in front of 21,747 spectators in the An der Alten Försterei stadium. Jamie Leweling (90’+6′) finally made things clear.
Previously, the long-injured Ihlas Bebou had put the Kraichgauer in the lead (44th), the striker admitted to Sky that TSG “gave the game out of hand in the second half”. While Hoffenheim is stuck in the lower middle of the table after six unsuccessful games, the Berliners have won again after three league games without a win and remain unbeaten at home this season.
The Köpenickers only had to accept a “painful” setback in the fight for the European Cup places during the week with the departure of left-back Julian Ryerson to Borussia Dortmund, according to Fischer. The coach relied on Niko Gießelmann in the starting XI. According to media reports, the Croatian Josip Juranovic (27) from the top Scottish club Celtic Glasgow is already approaching Berlin to fill the full-back position. With a transfer fee of around eight million euros plus bonus payments, Juranovic could rise to the record transfer of the Köpenicker.
Union Berlin – TSG Hoffenheim: The Iron turn backlog
The Kraichgauer, who tried to control the game early on, set the first accents in the stadium An der Alten Försterei. Youngster Tom Bischof miserably missed the first big chance from a few meters (8th). The Berliners then got into the game better, Janik Haberer’s shot from a promising position was just blocked (20′). The Unioners then neglected the greatest chance of the game: after a handball by Bebou in the penalty area, Jordan Siebatcheu shot the penalty kick that was due against the left post (25′).
TSG, who sold striker Georginio Rutter to England during the winter break for a princely 40 million euros, played more actively until the break and paid off. Robert Skov put the ball in the path of Bebou, who has recovered from a knee injury, and who scored from the inside right to open the scoring.
After the change of sides, the Berliners vehemently defended themselves against the impending defeat, but Robin Knoche (48th) and captain Christopher Trimmel (55th) missed from a good position. Union then ran tirelessly and equalized through Doekhi, who later scored again.
Union Berlin – TSG Hoffenheim: The voices
Urs Fischer (Coach Union Berlin): “We didn’t do well in the first half. We addressed that. After the break we did what we wanted to put on the pitch from the start. We showed mentality and ran tirelessly. We got the win deserved due to the dominant second half.”
Andre Breitenreiter (TSG Hoffenheim coach): “It was two different halves. We were really good in the first one, and what we set out for worked out. But then we didn’t come out of the break well, we got a lot of corners and free-kicks against us. We’re not the biggest team, but you can defend better with set pieces. It’s bitter when you lose your reward like that. Because of the second half, it’s a deserved win for Union.”
Union Berlin – TSG Hoffenheim: The line-ups
Union Berlin: Rönnow – Jaeckel, Knoche, Doekhi – Trimmel, R. Khedira, Gießelmann, Haraguchi (Seguin, 63rd), Haberer (Öztunali, 88th) – Becker (Leweling, 88th), Jordan (Behrens, 63rd)
