Irvine is sent off
©IMAGO
1. FC Union Berlin has kept FC St. Pauli at bay in the Bundesliga relegation battle. In the An der Alten Försterei stadium, the capital club and Hamburg drew 1-1 (0-1). With six games still to play, Union’s lead over the Kiezkickers in relegation place 16 remains a comfortable seven points. At the same time, Oliver Burke broke the season record for the fastest Bundesliga player with 37 km/h. Historically, since records began, there has only been one faster player according to official Bundesliga information. The season record was previously held by St. Pauli’s Ricky-Jade Jones.
In front of 22,012 spectators, Mathias Pereira Lage took the lead with a beautiful volley (25th minute). After the break, Andrej Ilic (52nd) equalized. The hard-fought game picked up a little more momentum, especially in the second half. St. Pauli’s captain Jackson Irvine was shown a yellow-red card in stoppage time for repeated foul play.
Union can eliminate the last doubts about remaining in the Bundesliga in the coming games against bottom team Heidenheim and penultimate Wolfsburg. The Hamburg team, who have not won in four games, have two home games against FC Bayern and their direct rivals from Cologne.
Union starts powerfully, Pereira Lage with a dream goal
Pauli was missing Tomoya Ando and Eric Smith in defense due to injuries. Karol Mets and Adam Dzwigala started. Compared to the disappointing performance in Munich (0:4) before the international break, coach Steffen Baumgart changed his team in five positions and, among other things, replaced the entire attack line. Offensive fireworks were still unlikely. When it comes to ball possession, shots on goal and goals scored, both teams are among the league’s worst performers. The home team took control of the game and had their first good chance through Danilho Doekhi in the fourth minute, but that was about it in terms of successful offensive actions from both teams in the first 20 minutes.
A clever corner kick gave Hamburg their first opportunity, but the Mets didn’t make enough of it. But their leadership came from a lot of footballing class. After a blocked attempt, Pereira Lage beautifully volleyed the ball into the net from a good 20 meters at more than 117 kilometers per hour. After winning the ball early, Union had a double chance through Burke and Derrick Köhn (40th). Pauli keeper Nikola Vasilj, who beat Italy in the World Cup playoffs with Bosnia-Herzegovina during the week, was there twice.
Berlin’s equalizer was once again the result of a corner. Ilic headed Köhn’s cross into the net from close range. It was only the second goal of the season in the league for the Serbian center forward. Both teams now became more compelling in their actions. A shot from Paulis Arkadiusz Pyrka went over the goal (63′). Union’s Andras Schäfer was unable to take advantage of a pass error by Vasilj shortly afterwards, the goalkeeper’s save saved the guests from winning the point against the onrushing Berliners. Irvine’s late sending off didn’t change the result.
