Matchday 14: 1. FC Union Berlin 2-0 1. FC Köln

Have you accepted your lord and savior Sebastian Andersson? source: Union Berlin

1. FC Union Berlin: Gikiewicz; Friedrich, Hübner, Parensen; Lenz, Trimmel, Gentner, Andrich (Kroos); Ingvartsen (Ryerson), Polter (Bülter), Andersson

1. FC Köln: Horn; Schmitz, Bornauw, Sobiech, Katterbach; Höger (Kainz), Ehizibue (Schaub), Verstraete, Drexler; Cordoba, Terrode (Modeste)

Goals:
Union: Andersson (33, 50) 

The home game against Köln on Sunday was a funny thing. On one hand, a top-flight fixture against a team that you played last year in the second division (and took four of six points from, lest we forget) is decidedly less glamorous than, say, Bayern Munich away. On the other hand, what the game against Köln lacked in glamour it made up for in absolute necessity. These are the games you have to win in order to avoid relegation -- the ones at home, against opposition on your level, surrounded by the most passionate fans in the league. If you can’t snag all three points in that scenario, how can you expect to snag enough points to stay up?

That being said, going into matchday 14, enough of a gulf had opened up between Union Berlin in 11th and Köln in 17th to lessen the appearance of a relegation six-pointer while still making it absolutely clear that anything other than an Union win would be unacceptable. While Köln ran away with the 2. Bundesliga title last season, they have struggled since this most recent promotion, while Union, to the surprise of many, have been by far the most impressive of the three promoted sides.

What Union lack in resources and big-name stars they make up for in tactical acumen. They know exactly how to overcompensate for their level of ability and manipulate the opposing team in order to come out on top, even in fixtures where they are clearly the underdog. They do this mainly through clever counterattacks, brilliant set pieces, and of course, lots of fouls. It’s Urs Fischer Fußball at its finest, and so far, it is working like gangbusters.

With Keven Schlotterbeck and Neven Subotic both injured, Michael Parensen and Florian Hübner stepped in at the center of defense alongside the steadfast Marvin Friedrich. A must-win match isn’t the most ideal time to start three defenders together for the first time this season, but the maturity and experience of Parensen and Hübner ensured that no one lost their heads. The only other change Fischer made to the starting XI following the previous week’s loss at Schalke was to slot Sebastian Polter in place of Marius Bülter on the wing.

Köln came out swinging, clearly desperate for a point (or even three) against one of the few teams they probably thought they could steal them from. The opening half an hour featured chances for both sides, with Köln appearing to have the slight edge and the more dangerous shots on goal. Fortunately, Gikiewicz made a few acrobatic saves to ensure that the game remained scoreless.

The Polish shot-stopper has clearly recovered from the traumatic losses earlier this season and regained his considerable confidence in net -- something that, I think, can once again be attributed to Fischer’s formation change. With three center backs, fewer shots make their way back to Gikiewicz, which means he is less likely to grow frantic and make uncharacteristically foolish errors. Even his distribution from goal kicks -- by far the weakest part of his game -- seems to have improved in recent weeks. Needless to say, Gikiewicz was a huge reason why the team was promoted and continues to be an important presence in the back as they accumulate points in the top flight. It all makes you wonder how his negotiations for a new contract are going…

The deadlock was finally broken in the 33rd minute, thanks to -- surprise, surprise -- a Sebastian Andersson header that -- surprise, surprise -- resulted from a Christopher Trimmel corner kick. This was Andersson’s seventh goal in the league this season and the third to have been assisted by Trimmel; Trimmel has had five assists total so far this season. It’s no coincidence that all three of the Andersson goals assisted by Trimmel have been headers, as Trimmel corner kicks to Andersson’s head have become a signature move for the team this season.

What is it that makes Trimmel so good at set-pieces? I’m legitimately inclined to think that the good eye and sense of perspective that make him a talented artist also contribute to his set-piece brilliance, and of course, it helps that he has plenty of tall men in the box to aim those kicks at. Whatever it may be, there’s no denying that it works: according to Opta, Union Berlin have scored 53% of their goals this season from set-pieces, which is a higher percentage than any other team in Europe’s top five leagues.

Like I said only a few paragraphs ago, Union’s set-piece ability is key in their being able to get results against bigger teams this season; these goals help them compensate for often having less possession and fewer chances from open play. Hopefully no one else in the league figures out how to defend them anytime soon, though to be fair, they’d probably need to grow about six inches or so in order to have any success doing so!

With the exception of Jhon Cordoba, who deserves applause for being the visiting side’s best player on the day and never giving up the fight, Köln came out rather deflated in the second half. And that feeling was to continue, for in the 50th minute a Gentner breakaway led to another Andersson goal -- one so sneaky that it required goal-line technology to confirm it! Once Andersson got the ball, he teased Timo Horn out of the net and cut around him to take the shot, and while a defender’s foot scraped it back over the line, the last-ditch effort -- as admirable as it was -- wasn’t enough to stop the goal from counting.

So, Andersson’s goal tally now stands at eight from 14 league games. Last year, in the 2. Bundesliga, he scored 12 goals in 34 games. (That’s right, he was on the field at some point during every single league game last season, and started 28 of them!) In other words, Andersson is on track to surpass the number of goals he scored last year, and against tougher opposition at that! Needless to say, he’s a remarkable player that Union are lucky to have leading their line, and I will be greatly disappointed when he inevitably leaves to join a mid-table Premier League side next season.

Urs Fischer brought on Bülter for Polter and Ryerson for Ingvartsen to ensure that the team didn’t get lackadaisical in the final moments and threaten to blow the lead. The final sub, Kroos for Andrich, seemed designed solely to keep Andrich from getting sent off as his trademark shithousery -- so good for wasting time -- threatened to earn him his second yellow card of the match. I have to say, watching Andrich immediately throw his hands up in the air to play innocent after a tackle has become one of my favorite things about watching Union this season, though I’m sure the same action that makes me laugh makes opposing fans’ blood boil.

With this loss to Union and Paderborn’s last-minute win over Bremen, Koln now sit bottom of the Bundesliga on goal difference. Meanwhile, Union are in 10th. Nearly as many points separate Union from Koln at the bottom (11) as separate them from Gladbach at the top (12). They are the epitome of a mid-table side, and needless to say, for Union that is a huge accomplishment. They have a chance to further cement themselves in safety this next weekend when they face Paderborn.