Matchday 12 Recap: SSV Jahn Regensburg 1 - 1 1. FC Union Berlin

Jahn Regensburg: Pentke; Saller, Sorensen, Correia, Föhrenbach; Geipl (Al Ghaddioui), Fein (Lais); Stolze (Derstroff), George; Grüttner, Adamyan

Union Berlin: Gikiewicz; Ryerson, Friedrich, Hübner, Reichel; Prömel, Schmiedebach, Zulj (Andersson); Gogia (Hartel), Polter (Parensen), Mees

Goals:

Regensburg: George, 45+1
Union: Polter, 45

Union away support doing Union away support things. Source: Union Berlin

Union Berlin may not have come away the victors in their DFB-Pokal tie last Wednesday night, but one cannot deny that the team impressed even in defeat. 

Union knew that if they had any hope of getting a result at the Westfalenstadion, they would have to bring far more of a fight to undefeated Bundesliga leaders Borussia Dortmund than they had during their previous league fixture against Dynamo Dresden. And indeed, thanks to the goalscoring exploits of prodigal striker Sebastian Polter, who seems to have finally returned to form following his extensive injury break, Union were able to come from behind twice and drag the game into extra time with a scoreline of 2-2. It was only a last-minute Dortmund penalty -- won by American midfielder Christian Pulisic, who dropped like a rock in the box after he felt Marvin Friedrich tugging on the back of his shirt, and coolly slotted home by in-form captain Marco Reus -- that kept the game from going to penalties. 

Still, it’s not easy to lose a game in the 120th minute, especially when you’ve played as well as Union did against such a tough opponent. Many pundits who remain sadly unfamiliar with the quality of the 2. Bundesliga tried to spin the result as a poor reflection of Dortmund’s quality instead of giving Union Berlin the credit they deserved for maintaining a well-organized defense in the face of the most lethal attack in German football. 

Nonetheless, it’s hard to go from giving your all for nigh unto two hours during a midweek cup tie in the biggest stadium in Germany to playing a league game on Sunday, especially when that league game is away from home. Thus, getting a point at Jahn Regensburg is not a terrible result. Yet this never-ending parade of draws -- eight total across twelve games, including four in a row across the most recent set of fixtures -- is growing increasingly difficult to stomach for a variety of reasons. 

Urs Fischer made five changes to the squad that fell to Dortmund midweek, but his most questionable bit of rotation was to replace Christopher Trimmel at right back with Julian Ryerson. (In Trimmel’s place, 22-year-old center back Marvin Friedrich wore the captain’s armband -- a surprising choice for those of us watching at home, but one imagines Fischer had his reasons.) This was Ryerson’s first league start for Union Berlin since transferring from Viking over the summer, and needless to say, the difference between the Norwegian U21 international and the Austrian veteran and club captain was stark. Ryerson has quality, don’t get me wrong, but the gulf in talent and experience between him and Trimmel was clear from the start of the game all the way to the final whistle. 

Trimmel brings so much more to the Union starting 11 than just defensive solidity. As captain, he is a calming presence on the pitch who keeps his team well-organized under pressure. His leadership is a huge reason why Union have allowed now only eight goals across twelve league fixtures. (The other big reason is goalkeeper Rafal Gikiewicz, who has shown in every match this season that he is the signing of the year for Union.) Trimmel is also a marvelous set piece taker whose corner kicks and throw-ins are always on target; it’s just a matter of whether or not another Union player can seize the opportunity. 

The player who does the most with Trimmel’s set pieces is Sebastian Polter, who at 6’4’’ can easily jump up and powerfully head home these balls. So, to start Polter but not Trimmel in this match felt like a missed opportunity to me. Trimmel has played 90 minutes in every other Union game this season and gets thrown around a lot by the opposing team, so I understand why Fischer would want to rest him, but in the end, I don’t think it was the right decision. 

Union instantly appeared more exhausted than Regensburg for obvious reasons. Nonetheless, they managed to keep the game under control until the half-hour mark, when Reichel brought down Regensburg forward Sargis Adamyan in the box. The referee awarded a penalty to the home side, which was taken by midfielder Sebastian Stolze -- and coolly saved by Gikiewicz. Gikiewicz’s efforts to keep the scoreline level were then rewarded close to halftime when a strong Prömel run sent the ball straight to Sebastian Polter, who did what Polter does best and tapped the ball home. 

This made Polter the first outfield player to score a league goal for Union in over a month; you’d have to go all the way back to the match against Ingolstadt on Matchday 8, when Andersson and Gogia both scored and earned Union a 2-1 away victory. Sadly, the lead didn’t last long. In the dying moments of first-half added time, Regensburg midfielder Jann George scored and sent the teams into the tunnel level. 

The second half had its own share of drama, albeit not of the goalscoring variety. (Well...more on that shortly.) Shortly after the hour-mark, Fischer brought on Hartel and Andersson for Gogia and Zulj, meaning that this was only the second time this season that the two strikers named Sebastian would be sharing the pitch for Union. (And I missed the game against Heidenheim in which this happened before, so I ask you, did it really happen?) Fischer never deviates from his standard formation, so to see him choosing to play with two strikers up top was a bit mind-boggling, albeit also very exciting. Maybe this was the key to finally unlocking Union’s attack!

Alas, Grischa Prömel, who was already facing a one-match ban after earning a stupid yellow card in the first half for smacking the ball down with his hands after the referee called a foul, proceeded to earn a second yellow card in the 77th minute. Turning his yellows into a red means that his accumulation ban has been put on hold for a bit longer -- at least, until his next yellow card -- but he’ll still miss Union’s next game against Fürth, who are breathing down Union’s backs in the table. It’s incredibly unfortunate but one hopes that Prömel has at least learned his lesson as far as youthful bouts of petulance are concerned. (The lesson is, control yourself, dammit.) It is also worth pointing out here that of all the teams in the 2. Bundesliga, Union Berlin have committed the second-most fouls, with 211. The only other team to have committed more than 200 fouls is also the only team to have committed more than Union: Ingolstadt, with 220.

After Prömel left the field, Fischer had to bring on a defender to try and hold on to the away point (and Union’s increasingly silly undefeated record). So, bye-bye Polter, hello center back Michael Parensen. Yet despite having one fewer player on the pitch, and the two-striker experiment coming to a premature end, Union still had their share of goalscoring opportunities. 

That’s where things get truly frustrating. Why, do you say? Well, because Union technically did put the ball in the back of the net before the end of the game, thanks to left back Reichel. But, after a lengthy deliberation by the referee and his assistant, the goal was declared to be offside. Yet, upon watching the replay of the goal, it’s hard to see who was offside and when in the buildup to the goal. Moreover, the referee and his assistant took a ridiculous amount of time to talk it over considering that the 2. Bundesliga does not yet have video review. 

In the end, Union did not get credit for the goal, and had to go back to Berlin with only one point to their names. They now sit fourth in the table, tied with fifth-place Fürth on points but ahead on goal difference thanks to their marvelous defense. Will they be able to open up more of a gap on Fürth at home this weekend? They ought to -- with Polter capable of starting games again, there are no longer any excuses for continuing to draw at home.