1. FC Union Berlin ended their winless streak on Sunday afternoon, beating FSV Mainz 05, 2-1, in a breathless encounter at the Alte Försterei. Benedict Hollerbach's first minute opener was balanced out by Nadiem Amiri's 5th minute penalty, but Robert Skov scored the winner, also from the spot, after 24 minutes.

1. FC Union Berlin: Schwolow – Juranovic (60. Trimmel), Doekhi, Querfeld, Leite, Skov – Haberer, Kemlein – Schäfer (71. Khedira), Siebatcheu (60. Skarke), Hollerbach 

1. FSV Mainz 05: Zentner – Caci (61. Weiper), da Costa (61. Hanche-Olsen), Bell (76. Letsch), Kohr, Mwene – Sano, Amiri – Nebel, Sieb (61. Widmer), Lee 

The starting XI

Steffen Baumgart made six changes to the side that started against Augsburg in mid-week, though in the continued absence of Frederik Rönnow, Alexander Schwolow remained between the sticks.

Ahead of Schwolow, it was all change, as the still new fresh coach opted for a back-three for the first time. It featured the returning Diogo Leite, Leopold Querfeld (replacing the injured Kevin Vogt) and Danilho Doekhi. Josip Juranović and Robert Skov came in as wing-backs, right and left respectively, for Christopher Trimmel and Jérôme Roussillon.

Aljoscha Kemlein and Janik Haberer (the former in place of Lucas Tousart) were in central midfield, allowing Andras Schäfer, who had come in for Wooyeong Jeong, to join both Benedict Hollerbach and Jordan Siebatcheu up front.

Attendance: 21.646 

Goals: 1-0 Hollerbach (1.), 1-1 Amiri (5. Pen.), 2-1 Skov (24. Pen.) 

Hollerbach strikes early; Amiri’s penalty cancels it out. Skov bags another from the spot.

When he took over, Steffen Baumgart promised excitement, though it’s hard to say if this was quite what he had in mind, especially he had to endure the sight of Mainz goalkeeper, Robin Zentner, up in the Union box as 90 minutes was all played out and the home fans howled for the final whistle to finally come.

When it did, all the worries and frustrations of the last weeks were as if banished. “It's not difficult to imagine that we're relieved,” said Baumgart. “We saw two teams today that gave it their all and gave it their everything.”

They certainly did. Even the fans had put an extra bit of bite into their rendition of Nina Hagen’s anthem before kick-off.

“We had the support of the fans from the outset. When we emerged from the tunnel, the stadium was already on fire. That really spurred us on,” said the excellent Leopold Querfeld, later on.

Suitably roused, proceedings could have not gotten off to a better start for Union.

Only a minute had been played when, following a steepling long ball, Danny Da Costa was caught napping by Benedict Hollerbach. He took a touch and slotted the ball low and hard to Robin Zentner’s left-hand side. It was a delightful finish, as cool as you like, and the immense roar of the crowd it produced filled the clear, freezing blue skies that had blessed this corner of Köpenick at kick off.

However, within four minutes - barely a chance to have taken a breath - Mainz equalised after Kemlein caught Jae Sung Lee on the foot within the box. Nadiem Amiri stepped up after a brief VAR check from the referee and nailed the spot-kick hard to Schwolow’s right-hand side. Though Union’s stopper guessed correctly, there was too much power on the ball.

All was chaos.

Suddenly, at the other end, Zentner managed to get a hand to Jordan’s stabbed shot from only a couple of metres out. The ball bounced out as far as Diogo Leite, but his effort whistled wide.

Paul Nebel clipped the ball into the box for Armindo Sieb to attack from the right-hand side, despite the Mainz striker timing his jump well enough, he could not manage get it on target. At the other end, Kemlein had a similar situation from Janik Haberer’s high ball in, though his was more central. Kemlein was playing like a man twenty years his age, directing his teammates and conducting the coruscating atonal passages of play all around him.

Indeed, this was football played as a call and response, both sides trading lines in a vivid chorus, a demented Sunday service. Sieb had the ball in the net again on the 14^th minute, though his finish was true, he had bundled over Danilho Doekhi as he raced towards goal. As a response, Kemlein flashed a volley just over immediately after. Andras Schäfer gestured to the Gegengerade at Union’s next free-kick, reminding them to keep the hellish din up.

It would only increase on the 24^th minute mark when Jordan, using all his strength, turned on the halfway line and set Robert Skov off down the inside left. His cross found Hollerbach, who took it on the turn and was brought down as he did so. Again, the referee pointed to the spot, and Skov, taking his time to put the ball down with a certain impeccable exactitude, implausible when one looked at the goings on all about him, hit it with his left, beating Zentner to make it 2-1.

He said “I was very confident and ready for the penalty,” his statement dripping with understatement.

Still, the game was breathless. Amiri went down easily under Skov’s challenge before Stefan Bell clattered Andras Schäfer twenty-five yards out from goal. Skov’s resulting free-kick cannoned back off the wall, but the follow up squirmed through to Leite, who struck a left-foot shot just over the bar. Schäfer witnessed another wriggle just wide too, after Juranović’s long throw had been nodded on by Doekhi.

Tackles were robustly flying in from both sides. Doekhi’s on Sieb was a masterpiece of timing in the Union box. Schäfer, revelling in his forward position, made one on Lee that was equally as good, as he won the ball in the Mainz half at full stretch. The excellent Querfeld’s long clearance in the final minute of the half found Jordan, who laid it off for Hollerbach, the former getting to the byline, but could not find either his target man, who had covered half the distance of the pitch in the meantime, or Schäfer alone in the box.

All hands on deck as Union ride out a goalless second half

The Mainz players were out early for the second half, waiting, running on the spot and attempting to keep themselves warm as the music still blared out. The Union players jogged out, and though proceedings began at a slightly less breakneck pace than the first, the sight of Union’s back-three stepping up to the halfway line as Schwolow looked to take a free-kick inside his box for offside, displayed that there would be little inclination from them to sit back.

Bell and Kohr stood up to Jordan’s presence at Union’s long balls, meanwhile Doekhi and Querfeld did the exact same thing in the Union box. They would all game long,

The substitutions of Tim Skarke for Jordan and Christopher Trimmel for Juranović, sounded out fifteen minutes into the half.

Union’s next big opportunity came as Skov blazed his effort over just before the substitution could be made, when he was played into acres of space by Hollerbach’s clever switch ball. Hollerbach was relentless with the ball at his feet, and the substitute, Andreas Hanche-Olsen did well to stop him on the charge as he broke half the length of the pitch alone.

Lee then caught Skov, rather aggressively, and briefly things looked to have ignited in the middle, as Nebel shoved an incensed Schäfer. Yet, play swiftly resumed thereafter, even if the volume from the terraces barely abated for a second.

With ten minutes remaining, the game had now grown somewhat scruffy, the tiring players on both sides straining every sinew to maintain the relentless pace. It was as if they had punched themselves well and truly out. Both keepers were seen coming out of their box to hoick long balls up and away into the gorgeous tangerine-sunset skies, yet still the feeling was there that there could be a final twist to come in the tail of this compelling spectacle.

Haberer turned in the centre circle, attempting to set Skarke off on another lengthy run, but Kohr managed to make it across in time to crucially get his challenge in. Trimmel, Doekhi and Querfeld all made headers in their own box within seconds of each other as Mainz threw ball after ball in there, before Baumgart made his final changes; Jérôme Roussillon and Laszlo Benes replacing the tiring Hollerbach and the tireless Skov.

Baumgart raged in his technical area when the Frenchman skied his attempted cross without posing a threat to the Mainz backline as they backpedalled.

Now, it was the guests who were piling ball after ball into the Union half, but still that re-aligned back three held firm. Hearts were in mouths as Schwolow sharply dived to his left-hand-side, a deflected shot whizzing past him despite travelling wide of the post. This was the cue for goalkeeper, Zentner, to join them in the box, a light blue hint of menace among the red and white bodies packing out the area. Leite and Querfeld slapped freezing palms together as the ball ventured out of play for a goal kick with the four minutes added on nearly all played out.

Hanche-Olsen threw himself at a diving header with the keeper up once again, but as the ball sailed past the back post, it was finally all over, the curse of ten games without a win now broken.

“Everyone was aware of the pressure,” said a delighted Baumgart after the final whistle. “But the nice thing is that every series ends at some point, and maybe a new one can begin.”