Joker Voglsammer decides
After beating FC St. Pauli, 1. FC Union Berlin are in the semifinals of the DFB Cup for the first time in 21 years. The Irons prevailed on Tuesday evening in the quarter-finals thanks to two goals from Sheraldo Becker (45th minute) and Andreas Voglsammer (75th minute) favored by 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 front of 10,000 spectators in the stadium at the Alte Försterei and after the coup against defending champion Borussia Dortmund seemed on the way to the next cup surprise against a Bundesliga club. Union, on the other hand, can dream of the final practically on their own doorstep in the Olympic Stadium on May 21st. In 2001, Union had to admit defeat against Schalke 04 (0:2) in its only final participation so far.
At first, however, Union goalkeeper Frederik Rönnow looked bad when the guests opened the scoring when he let himself be surprised by Kyereh’s free kick in the goalkeeper’s corner. And 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 Taiwo Awoniyi’s shot, Becker put the follow-up shot into the goal.
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 another slip by the guests, by Jakov Medic. In addition, he hit the post in stoppage time (90+1).
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