It was hard work for Union Berlin that was not crowned with success. There was only a draw for the Köpenickers against VfL Bochum.
Union Berlin drops feathers in the fight for the Champions League places. The team coached by Urs Fischer did not get better than 1-1 (1-0) against VfL Bochum in a hard-fought and often tough game. This leaves the Berliners in third place in the table, just one point ahead of RB Leipzig.
For Bochum, this point win means a ray of hope in the fight for relegation. Coach Thomas Letsch’s team is currently 15th with 27 points. Josip Juranović (45’+3′) for Union and Kevin Stöger (55′) for Bochum scored the goals.
Lightning start from Union
The Berliners tried to score an early goal with a lightning start in the first five minutes. However, the Bochum defense withstood the intensive efforts of the Union. As a result, the game calmed down significantly, VfL was able to launch their own, relieving attacks from time to time, but without becoming dangerous.
The game rippled uneventfully for a long time. Coach Urs Fischer’s team had a lot more possession of the ball, but couldn’t find any playful means of putting the guests under real pressure.
Only an unfortunate cross from Jérôme Roussillon after 37 minutes on the Bochum crossbar caused a minimum of excitement in the stadium at the Alte Försterei. But then came Josip Juranović’s moment: the Croatian (45′ + 3′) shot an untenable free-kick from 22 meters into the corner of the goal in added time to give the Berliners a flattering 1-0 lead.
Bochum transformed
At the beginning of the second half, Bochum suddenly lost their reserve and put the Berliners under pressure from the start. The result: VfL were awarded a penalty after Aïssa Laïdouni came too late against Ivan Ordets and simply kicked the Bochum player over. Kevin Stöger (55th) converted safely to 1: 1.
Union defender Paul Jaeckel saw just six minutes later Yellow-red after repeated foul play. The Bochum team tried to keep the pressure high and score the second goal. But Union goalkeeper Frederik Rönnow (81st) prevented Bochmer’s second goal with a brilliant save against Philipp Hofmann’s header. On the other side, Behrens (85′) had a great counterattack chance, his header from five meters missed the VfL goal.
Union to conclude against Moenchengladbach
Union Berlin plays away to Mönchengladbach at the end of the 29th matchday (Sunday, April 23rd, 2023 at 7.30 p.m.). Bochum welcomes VfL Wolfsburg the day before (3:30 p.m.).