DFB Cup against St. Pauli
Union Berlin is in the semifinals of the DFB Cup. The Köpenickers beat second division team St. Pauli at home. The Bundesliga club benefited from two mistakes.
1. FC Union Berlin was undeterred by favorites FC St. Pauli and is in the semi-finals of the DFB Cup for the first time in 21 years. The Irons prevailed on Tuesday evening in the quarter-finals thanks to the goals of Sheraldo Becker (45th minute) and Andreas Voglsammer (75th), which benefited from two slips in the guest defense, after initial difficulties with 2: 1 (1: 1).
The Kiezklub from Hamburg took the lead with a free kick from Daniel Kofi Kyereh (21st) in the stadium at the Alte Försterei and after the coup against defending champion Borussia Dortmund seemed on the way to the next cup miracle against a Bundesliga team.
“I’m very happy that we’re in the last four. In terms of sport, it’s good to have such an experience in these times. It’s good for people, too,” said Berlin’s managing director Oliver Ruhnert to the Sky TV channel Trimmel added: “We were aggressive and courageous on the ball. In the end, it’s a deserved win.” Match winner Voglsammer said: “It’s important that I help the team with goals. In the end, progress counts.”
Minute of silence for the victims of the Ukraine war
A typical cup atmosphere prevailed in front of the 10,000 allowed fans, although the war in Ukraine cannot be ignored, as St. Pauli’s coach Timo Schultz noted on the Sky TV station. The victims were commemorated with a minute’s silence before kick-off, and all players wore armbands with the peace sign.
Then the ball rolled. First of all in the direction of the Hamburg goal, which this time was guarded by Dennis Smarsch, a native of Berlin, instead of regular Nikola Vasilj. And also at Union there was a goalkeeper rotation. The Dane Frederik Rönnow represented Andreas Luthe. The changes in the first half were not crowned with success on either side.
At first, Rönnow looked bad for the visitors’ opening goal when he let himself be surprised by Kyereh’s free-kick in the goalkeeper’s corner. On the other side, the former Hertha keeper Smarsch slipped while running out and was partly to blame for the equalizer shortly before the break. Although he was able to parry Awoniyi’s shot, Becker put the follow-up shot into the goal.
St. Pauli with major personnel problems
So Union was well served with the break. As a Bundesliga club, the Berliners had the larger share of the game, but coach Urs Fischer’s team was not compelling enough in front of goal. In addition, the ambitious second division team did it very cleverly. Despite the personal problems on the defensive – 19-year-old Marcel Beifus even made his starting eleven debut in the back three – St. Pauli was quite secure. Awoniyi caused trouble again and again, but the Nigerians couldn’t create any real chances. Niko Gießelmann still had the best chance after a cross from Christopher Trimmel (24th).
The Berliners came out of the break with momentum, created more pressure and caused mistakes on the part of the second division team. But there were no clear chances. A goalscorer like Max Kruse, who moved to Wolfsburg, would have been good for the hosts. Instead, Fischer brought the robust Voglsammer into play. A smart move. First the ex-Bielefeld player almost got a penalty (69th), then he coldly exploited Medic’s slip. In addition, he hit the post in stoppage time (90+1).