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Borussia Mönchengladbach vs 1. FC Union Berlin

Bundesliga, 5. Matchday

M'gladbach vs 1. FC Union

Bundesliga, 5. Matchday

Sat., 28. September 2024, 15:30 Uhr
BORUSSIA-PARK
1 : 0
53.056
SR: Daniel Schlager

Union Lose 1-0 to Gladbach

Match report

1. FC Union Berlin lost 1-0 away to Borussia Mönchengladbach in heartbreaking style on Saturday afternoon. Following a goalless first half and Yorbe Vertessen’s shot off the post in the second, Tomas Cvancara nipped in to head home in the sixth minute of stoppage time.

1. FC Union Berlin: Rönnow – Haberer (79. Trimmel), Doekhi, Vogt, Leite, Rothe (46. Querfeld) – Schäfer, Khedira – Jeong (62. Vertessen), Siebatcheu (79. Skarke), Hollerbach (72. Bénes) 

Borussia Mönchengladbach: Nicolas – Scally, Itakura, Elvedi, Netz – Sander (76. Reitz), Weigl – Ngoumou (76. Cvancara), Stöger (72. Hack), Pléa (90. Friedrich) – Kleindienst 

The starting XI

Bo Svensson had referred to “die Qual der Wahl” during his midweek press conference – the luxurious and all too rare problem in football of having a lot of choice. Yet, as such, he was able to field the exact same starting eleven as he had in last week’s 2-1 win over Hoffenheim.

It started, as usual, with Frederik Rönnow in goal behind a back three of Diogo Leite, Kevin Vogt and Danilho Doekhi, flanked by the wingbacks - Yanik Haberer and Tom Rothe, on the right and left respectively.

Rani Khedira and Andras Schäfer were in the middle.

This left Benedict Hollerbach and Woo-yeong Jeong to do the tormenting up top, whilst Jordan Siebatcheu would lead the line as he did so effectively in the first half last weekend.

Attendance: 53.056 

Goal: 1-0 Cvancara (90. + 6) 

Union off to a strong start, but Gladbach hit back in a goalless first half

1. FC Union Berlin had started to feel like a bogey team to Borussia Mönchengladbach. Indeed, the five-time Champions had not defeated Union since May 2020, but those Berliners with longer memories will always associate the sides with the 2001 DFB Pokal semi-final victory. That was the best part of a generation – even if it feels like a lifetime ago – yet, after Saturday, they’ll do well to think of Ronny Nikol’s penalty, because this one went the other way in the cruellest of circumstances.

If the hairs on the back of many Unioner’s necks were still standing up following the blistering start they made to last week’s game against Hoffenheim, the first half of this one would follow a slightly more prosaic course. Indeed, one could say, following an early onslaught, Union’s performance – up to the devastating denouement - was now typical of their away games under Bo Svensson so far this season.

They were both compact and deep, looking to catch the hosts on the break, whilst relying on the innate strength and quality of their defence. In many ways, it all went to plan.

Union’s first sniff on goal came within the first 90 seconds, as Woo-yeong Jeong managed to catch up with a ball that bounced fortuitously off the back of his own head. Perhaps it was the shock value, but he did not manage to get any real power into his shot, all the while approaching the edge of the box.

Union had started quickly, attempting to push Mönchengladbach in order to overwhelm them from the get-go; Tom Rothe played the ball inside to Jordan with his back to goal - short and razor-sharp, and just as against Hoffenheim, the centre-forward’s touch was assured. Benedict Hollerbach nipped into spaces, left and right, while Rani Khedira and Rothe showed the first signs of a burgeoning relationship; one ball out to the right from Union’s captain for the day was flicked over the head of Philipp Sander with schoolyard-like simplicity.

Union had the wind in their sails, at least for now, as their next chance came as Rothe made another foray down the left, his low-cut back pass stabbed straight at the former Unioner in the Gladbach goal, Moritz Nicolas, by Hollerbach.

However, the hosts would come back, slowly growing into the game having ridden out Union’s initial dominance early on.

Luca Netz mishit his pass straight at Andras Schäfer, loitering in the space between the Union box and the centre-circle like as if he was the last man left to clean up following a chaotic party. Sander would then come much closer after quarter of an hour, with his volley flying just over following a cleverly worked free-kick routine that saw the ball played short, before being whipped in from the right.

Their danger man, Tim Kleindienst – who Svensson had mentioned specifically in his press conference, was suddenly thronged by black-shirted Union players as he found the ball at his feet with the hint of a chance flashing in front of his eyes.

It took a frantic Khedira clearance after Luca Netz’ weakly hit shot under pressure, following a good bit of work from Peter Stöger on Gladbach’s right wing, while Stöger himself should have done better than shooting over with 26 minutes played.

Union needed to release a little bit of the pressure. Predictably, when they could, it came through Rothe’s industriousness on the left, as well as Hollerbach’s quick feet and determination.

Yet, Gladbach continued to pushed on, looking for an opener to try and put a stop to their horrendous seven-month winless streak at home. Nathan N’Goumou drew the first save from Rönnow just after the half-an-hour mark, as he put it too close to Union’s stopper. Rönnow landed on Janik Haberer a short while after, leaving Union’s wing-back wincing, although not mortally wounded.

It took until the 41st minute for the hosts to have their first corner, which certainly came as a surprise, but less so was the move it developed into, as Alassane Plea’s deflected shot was flagged offside, as N’Goumou found himself having slightly strayed over Union’s superbly diligent and rigid defensive line.

Similarly to their away games at Mainz and Leipzig, Union went into the break goalless. It was not only a situation they were used to; it was probably also one they were pleasantly satisfied with.

Vertessen comes close, before Cvancara’s crushing blow

What Union’s Danish boss couldn’t have predicted was that he would have to take off Rothe at the break, replacing him with Leopold Querfeld, a move which saw Diogo Leite move out to the left-hand side.

The Portuguese has been playing superbly well all season and advancing with increasing regularity too, his eyes aglow, with his feet showing the tricks he tries to keep under wraps when doing his main job. Now was his chance to take the shackles off a little and he combined quickly with Hollerbach up near the corner flag after only a couple of minutes.

Querfeld’s first notable move, meanwhile, was to track Plea back thirty yards, snapping at his heels all the way and earning a yellow card for his troubles. He would prove to be an excellent substitution in place of Leite.

Schäfer couldn’t believe he hadn’t won a corner on the other side, seven minutes into the half, a grin spreading out across his boyish face in disbelief, just as Hollerbach was fuming when he tussled with Kou Itakura after an hour - both of them scrapping for the ball almost on the byline, directly in front of the more than 3,000 Unioner in the corner. It was a clash that would see the Japanese international holding his shoulder in pain as he went down. Hollerbach however would have it worse soon enough.

If things were going according to plan (barring the long moment Leite was out flat on the floor, down after an accidental clash with his skipper, Khedira, as they went for the same ball,), it wasn’t the most enthralling sight as the second half wore on, but Svensson looked to inject a little more life into the game as he brought on Yorbe Vertessen for the tiring Jeong at the hour mark.

It worked. Suddenly Haberer burst down the right in acres of space, yet somehow unsighted, Hollerbach couldn’t turn the ball home as he came in behind Jordan at pace.

It was then that Hollerbach’s day was over. He took the brunt of a thrown Joesph Scally elbow with 20 minutes left to play - his nose bloodied and his body shaking. It was a hell of a blow and even the booked Gladbach full-back winced as he touched the offending limb.

Hollerbach was withdrawn straight away, replaced by László Bénes with 20 minutes left to play, but it was on his side that Union would conjure their next chance, as Leite set Vertessen away, only to see him shoot wide of the near post.

It was one of few and the game by now was characterised more by the challenges being launched - such as Plea’s on Schäfer that saw him get a yellow card and the long balls being launched into either box.

Svensson made his final changes not long afterwards, bringing on Christopher Trimmel for Haberer on the right and Tim Skarke for Jordan. Union stepped up a final time, as Vertessen and Schäfer exchanged passes on the edge of the box, as did Trimmel and Skarke.

Skarke drove high and wide from distance with five minutes left to play, but the best chance would fall to Vertessen, who ran onto a picture-perfect lofted pass, leaving his marker and striking with his left foot across goal, only to see the ball crash off the base of the back post and away to safety.

Vertessen flashed a header at Skarke’s excellent cross a moment later, unable to get a meaningful connection on the ball due to Itakura’s attentions and height on the ball.

It was hard to say who would have felt happiest at the sign of eight minutes time being added on, as the 90 was up - “There aren't many games in the Bundesliga with so much added time,” said a gutted Svensson after the final whistle, while staying careful not to lay the blame at the referee’s door, yet it saw the hosts back in attack, the ball zipping across the Union box dangerously evading Kleindienst by millimetres as he slid into the six yard box, even with a couple of men back – the footballing equivalent of sleeping with one-eye open.

Then, when all looked said and done, with only two minutes left, Tomas Cvancara nipped in ahead of his man to head Robin Hack’s clever ball in from the right past a helpless Rönnow. It was a fine finish, but the Unioner won’t be able to see that for a while yet. It hurt too much and Kevin Vogt summed up his side’s disappointment, calling it: “completely unnecessary.” “We can play the ball away better than that,” he continued, “when you concede a goal in the 96th minute, it's bitter.”

They had done so much right, the plan had come so close to fruition, but football is a cruel game and Svensson tried to see the positives. “We'll now process this, then look ahead and remain true to our path.”

Sometimes, you just have to take one on the chin.

Union to Face Borussia Mönchengladbach

Match preview

1. FC Union Berlin’s men’s team will travel to play Borussia Mönchengladbach this coming Saturday, 28 September 2024. Kick off at Borussia-Park is at 15:30.

The lie of the land

The team from the Lower Rhine are keen to end a seven-month run without a home win. So far this season, they have suffered defeats at Borussia-Park to both the champions, Bayer 04 Leverkusen, and the runners-up, VfB Stuttgart. Their only success so far has come away from home against VfL Bochum (2-0). Last weekend, Gerardo Seoane's team lost 2-0 at SG Eintracht Frankfurt.

Union, on the other hand, have so far taken six out of a possible six points at the Stadion An der Alten Försterei while earning a point each on the road in Mainz (1-1) and Leipzig (0-0). What's more, Union are undefeated in eight games against Gladbach, with five wins and three draws.

The opponents

A glance at the table implies that Borussia, in 14th place, have not had an ideal start to the season. However, this is tempered by the fact that they have faced strong opponents in their first few fixtures. In addition to the home games against Leverkusen and Stuttgart, they also played away against SG Eintracht Frankfurt – all teams with supposedly loftier ambitions.

Pre-season, on the other hand, was promising for the five-time German champions with six wins from six friendlies, and Gladbach also progressed confidently into the next round of the DFB Pokal with a 3-1 win against Erzgebirge Aue.

The new signings, who have immediately integrated into the team, have played a major role in this. Tim Kleindienst is not only impressing with the highest number of sprints and intensive runs in the league, but also as Borussia's top scorer so far with two goals and one assist. Kevin Stöger, too, has contributed two assists so far, and has thus been involved in almost half of the five goals that the team has scored in the league.

The personnel

Union's head coach Bo Svensson is still unable to call on the injured Kevin Volland, Josip Juranović and Yannic Stein for the matchday squad. Ivan Prtajin is also out as he recovers from injury.

The reunions

Former Union centre-back Marvin Friedrich has been wearing the black, white and green jersey since January 2022. He previously spent three and a half years in Köpenick and played a key role in the club's promotion season of 2018/19, when he played all 34 second division games and scored the important equalising goal in the 2-2 first-leg result against VfB Stuttgart in the relegation play-off.

Moritz Nicolas, goalkeeper for Borussia Mönchengladbach, played one Bundesliga game for Union in the 2019/20 season. Last season, the keeper kept four clean sheets in 27 competitive appearances.

Jordan Siebatcheu was also on loan at the Niederrhein club last season, appearing in 27 matches for the Foals, playing a part in 11 goals.

Borussia Mönchengladbach were László Bénes’ first club in Germany. The then 19-year-old joined the club from the Slovakian first division and made 65 appearances.

Finally, Union's head coach Bo Svensson has a past with the team from the Lower Rhine region. Svensson played in Mönchengladbach, having come straight from Denmark, between January 2006 and June 2007. Before moving to 1. FSV Mainz 05, he played 33 competitive games and scored two goals.

The coaches’ views on the game

“We'll go into the game on Saturday with a tailwind from our last home win,” said Svensson, during his press conference on Thursday afternoon. “But we have to keep going and not underestimate the difficult task in Mönchengladbach. They had a demanding opening programme and did really well in those games. They also strengthened their squad over the summer with the signings of Kevin Stöger and Tim Kleindienst, who are two top-quality offensive players.”

His opposite number, Gerardo Seoane, meanwhile had this to say of the challenge his side will face on Saturday: “Union close down space well and transition quickly. We have to avoid making mistakes in phases of possession, and in attack we have to find solutions down the flanks and in the spaces in between. Set-pieces will also play an important role in this game. Union have a well-drilled team that only allows a few chances in defence. We face a big task.”

Service information

More than 3,000 Union fans will travel to Mönchengladbach for the away game in the Rhineland. The Union mobile Zeughaus will also be there. Information on visiting the stadium can be found here (German)

The game will be broadcast live on Sky. There will also be an audio stream on rbb24 Inforadio and on rbb24. As usual, Union will also provide information on the game via the club's own live ticker, as well as on Twitter in English and Spanish.

AFTV Videos

MatchStatistics

Borussia Mönchengladbach vs 1. FC Union Berlin

64 % Possession 36 %
84 % Pass Completion Rate 70 %
56 % Successful Tackle Rate 44 %
8 Shots on Goal 9
18 Crosses 18
3 Caught Offside 1
3 Yellow Cards 1
0 Yellow-Red Cards 0
0 Red Cards 0

Last match

Date Home Result Away