Matchday 3 Recap: 1. FC Union Berlin 4 -1 FC St. Pauli

1. FC Union Berlin: Gikiewicz; Trimmel, Hübner, Friedrich, Reichel; Schmiedebach, Prömel, Kroos (Zulj); Hedlund (Ryerson), Gogia (Redondo), Andersson

FC St. Pauli: Himmelmann; Dudziak, Ziereis, Knoll, Buballa (Carstens); Flum, Buchtmann, Neudecker, Nehrig (Veerman), Moller Daehli; Diamantakos (Sahin)

Goals:
Union - Prömel, 44; Gogia, 45+2; Andersson, 57, 88
St. Pauli - Veerman, 71

Three happy Union Berlin goalscorers.

Any win against St. Pauli -- the only 2. Bundesliga team to have branding as prevalent in certain parts of Brooklyn as Supreme, and just as overrated of branding at that -- is going to feel like a statement of intent. For that win to come against St. Pauli while they were top of the table, with two consecutive wins to start the season, takes that statement and renders it in size 42 Arial Bold font. But for that statement win to be a comfortable 4-1 victory at home that sent Union top of the league, tied with Köln on all metrics? You better get out the megaphone and shout it from the rooftops in Köpenick and beyond.

After a shaky start against Aue and an increasingly important stolen point away from home at Köln, Union Berlin appear to be truly coming together as a squad. The midfield is clicking and the defense is solid -- much more solid than they were last year when they were repeatedly culpable for Union dropping points all over the place. (I blame Torrejón.) After briefly topping the table and finishing 4th during the 2016-2017 season, one expected Union to get off to a much better start last year than they did. But already the 2017-2018 is starting to feel like a lost year of sorts. This season, we’re seeing the confident Union Berlin that should have showed up then. Better late than never, right?

Urs Fischer made two changes to the starting 11 that comfortably beat Carl Zeiss Jena in the first round of the DFB-Pokal (more on that later). Both were to the back line: fullback Ken Reichel was back in for Christopher Lenz, while centerback Florian Hübner came in for veteran Michael Parensen, a confirmed Second Division Heartthrob whose 100th appearance for the club against Jena was celebrated shortly before kickoff.

This is becoming a recurring sight for Union Berlin fans...
Source: Sportschau

The first half bore a bit of a resemblance to the first half against Köln on Matchday 2, with the ball pinging back and forth between the two sides. St. Pauli, like Köln, put enough pressure on Union to prevent too many substantial chances. But unlike the game against Köln, this time Union struck first, with midfield ace Grischa Prömel -- one of Union’s standout performers so far this season -- finally breaking through the St. Pauli back line and scoring just before halftime.

But wait! In the closing minutes of first-half stoppage time, winger Akaki Gogia -- yet another who deserves plaudits for his strong performances so far this season -- snapped on a stray ball and took advantage of the opportunity, scoring with ease. Inside of three minutes, the game had gone from stalemate to a somewhat comfortable lead for Union.

Credit is due to Urs Fischer, who has not only pieced together an experienced squad with incredible depth and increasingly good chemistry but also must give the world’s greatest halftime talks. Every time this Union Berlin team comes out for a second half, they look ready to take on the world (or at least, maybe the top flight. Maybe). After scoring those two goals late in the first half, Union could have come back out too lackadaisical in the second half and succumbed to the curse of the two-goal lead. Instead, they came out with just as much fire as they had at kickoff and continued to add to their goal tally, with striker Sebastian Andersson adding another before the hour mark.

Now up 3-0, this was when Union started to take the pedal off the gas somewhat and give me unnecessary anxiety. St. Pauli began to get more of the ball and started to produce increasingly quality chances, giving Rafal Gikiewicz much more to do than he had in the first half. And for the most part, he was ready for the challenge. I am a fan of Jakub Busk and was mystified when he was benched for Daniel Mesenhöler part way through last season, but one cannot deny that Gikiewicz was a great pickup from Freiburg who has so far proven that he deserves to be Union’s starter. He has confidence to spare without excessive recklessness -- an all too rare balance of character in a goalkeeper, especially in the second division. He’s also great at marshaling his back line, which is likely one of the reasons why the defense is so much stronger so far this season. (Also, Torrejón isn’t playing.)

Despite Gikiewicz’s best efforts, St. Pauli managed to pull a goal back in the 71st minute. From there, things got a bit nervy. Yes, a 3-1 lead should, in theory, be comfortable, but when you have seen Union drop so many points from winning positions as they did last year (21, to be exact*), you naturally get a little paranoid. But instead of allowing a second goal to St. Pauli -- and goodness knows there were moments in which they came close -- Union added another insurance goal at the 88th minute as Andersson snagged a brace.

Polter looking disturbingly devious as he plots his comeback.
Source: his Twitter

The question that must be on all Union Berlin fans’ minds right now -- though it’s not the worst question to ponder, mind you -- is where does Sebastian Polter fit into this squad? Andersson has found his groove with his new team and has now scored 4 goals in 4 games across all competitions. With Polter back in training and his return from injury likely on the cards in the next month, Fischer will have to decide whether to stick with the striker in form or give the spot to the man who scored 12 goals in 24 league games last season before rupturing his Achilles last March. (Then again, you know who else scored 12 goals in the 2. Bundesliga last season? Sebastian Andersson, for since-relegated Kaiserslautern). I love me some Polter -- the guy oozes charm and class and can always get his head on a Trimmel set piece -- but Andersson is shaping up to be his equal in quality. I can’t wait until we get to see the two striking Sebastians battle it out for the starting spot -- them needing to one-up each other with goals can only be to the benefit of Union.

Anyways, Union’s reward for a comfortable win against St. Pauli in front of a sold-out crowd bursting with song and atmosphere was to draw Borussia Dortmund away in the next round of the DFB-Pokal. As someone who also supports Borussia Dortmund, this is literally the last combination I wanted -- and naturally, it was also the last combination to be drawn, which meant sitting through draw after draw only to see Union and Dortmund’s pool of potential other opponents dwindling away into nothing. The last time the two sides met in the Pokal, it was a cracking 1-1 match won by Dortmund in a penalty shootout. With both sides notching impressive 4-1 wins over their league opponents this weekend, this upcoming tie promises to be just as exciting.


*A detailed account of Union's dropped points from winning positions last season, courtesy of John:
Union led late at Nürnberg and conceded a 90th-minute equalizer. 2 points dropped.
Union led late in Düsseldorf and conceded two late goals to lose. Total of 5 points dropped.
Union scored first at home against Braunschweig, then conceded an equalizer. 7 points dropped.
Union scored first at Duisburg and allowed a late equalizer. 9 points dropped.
Union led twice against Darmstadt, then trailed, and needed a late equalizer of their own. Point rescued here, but they had led, so it's 11 dropped in total.
Union scored first at Bochum, then allowed two to lose. 14 dropped.
Union scored first against Ingolstadt, then allowed two to lose. We were there. 17 dropped.
They scored first at Bielefeld and drew 1-1. 19 dropped.
They led twice against Regensburg and allowed a late equalizer. 21 dropped.