Stanley Nsoki got his first ever touch in Union’s colours early. It was simple, nothing really, the interception of a short pass from Simon Gollnack just inside his own box. But just as his partner in the middle of the back four, Oluwaseun Ogbemudia, had during his own debut appearance for Union here in this little gem of a stadium two seasons ago, it was a promising beginning.

He held off the terrier-like attentions of Lucas Will on the halfway line with the greatest of ease, if his attempted early lob upfield showed his radar still needed a little adjustment after a long time out; it sailed away over the small bank of fans and over the fence. But with half an hour played he would crash one player almost into the opposition dugout with one challenge, before popping up in the middle seconds later, having somehow seen Lucas Will’s cleverly slid pass before any of his teammates.

Ogbemudia looked typically assured next to him, rolling a ball out to Janik Haberer in the base of midfield, his shoulders back, head up. Also typical was the way that Oliver Burke showed his blistering pace as he darted up the middle with just a couple of minutes played. He almost got onto the end of a Haberer long ball soon afterwards, but the Regionalliga side would be careful not to let him get the jump on them too often again.

But Luckenwalde weren’t here just for the giggles. The former Unioner, Tim Maciejewski nipped onto a loose pass ahead of Haberer, and sent Will away with a lovely diagonal, out right. Now watchful, Nsoki swept up the danger quickly.

Union took the lead after 13 minutes, when Derrick Köhn advanced on the left, before bending an inch-perfect, left-footed cross towards the back post where Tim Skarke met it with a firm header.

The guests came close to doubling it within four minutes as Luckenwalde keeper, Kevin Tittel, saved from David Preu before Ljubicic put wide from the follow up. Tittel then stopped Burke’s drive, diving to his right, palming the ball awaywith two hands.

For all Union’s dominance, there were a few drawn faces as Robert Skov trudged off after only 20 minutes. The Dane’s misfortune, however, was tempered – if not for him - by the fact that his 17-year-old replacement, Sadou Barry, was making his own first-team debut, slotting in on the right without fuss.

Maciejewski was performing well against his former club. He attacked down the right, cutting inside, and flashed a shot that went into the side netting; one failed attempt drew the thud of his coach’s fist on the plexiglass roof of the dugout, before his stinging shot drew the best save of the half from Tittel.

As expected, Steffen Baumgart rung in the changes at the break, with Diogo Leite, taking the armband from Haberer, Dmytro Bogdanov, Tim Blaszczak and Matheo Raab coming on for Nskoki, Burke, and Klaus. 

The changes, however, had little to do with Union’s second, only two minutes after the break. Tittel received a goal kick, dallied, and tried to play it out short, but Ljubicic was quicker onto the loose ball and only had to stab home. It was too easy for the hosts, a gift.

As Baumgart had swapped out half of his side, so had FSV coach, Michael Braune, but they lacked the zip that they’d had during periods of the first half. Quentin Seidel, the tall right back, made a crucial intervention as Ljubicic looked to get his second of the night. 

They would have their biggest chance, however, before the hour was up as Luca Dreihardt danced onto Hathaway’s through ball. Raab stopped him in his tracks, standing up all the way and saving his shot with an outstretched right foot.

This was the cue for Baumgart’s next big swap, and a youthful one it was at that, as two more debutants, Theodor Sakoufakis and Yann Megaptche joined Elias Ali - who had already played, and scored, in pre-season for Union - replacing Jeong, Köhn and Ljubicic. But Tittel had not only to be wary of them. With 66 minutes gone Len Neumann tested him with another risky backpass, one the keeper had to rush out to, ultimately belting it into the stands.  

The kids were enjoying themselves – hardly lacking confidence, many of them are currently unbeaten at the top of the league with the undefeated U19s - they were more than alright. Megaptche tried one from range; Bogdanov almost got on the end of another up close, Barry almost slid a pass into the box for Bogdanov before the average age of the Union players was knocked up a notch, as Danilho Doekhi replaced Ogbemudia at the back.

Finally, Megaptche made it three with a lovely finish in the 79th minute, bringing the ball onto his right, and bending a shot across Tittel and inside the back post.

Though Skarke, and the impressive Bogdanov, would come close in the final minutes, the game had by now largely played itself out. From the 26-year-old Nsoki to the 17-year-old Megaptche and his cohorts, it had been a good night for the debutants.

‘Today, we are naturally happier than after the match against Altglienicke. The result speaks for itself. For us as goalkeepers or part of the defence, it's always nice to keep a clean sheet.  Everything was very serious and confident. Now we're looking forward to a few quiet days,’

‘The result is better than the one from the match against Altglienicke, and the performance was just as good. We were able to prepare better for today's match than we did last time. For me, however, the main thing was how the lads approached the match, and I think they did very well and were very focused,’

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