Ailien Poese swapped Campbell at the break for Ida Heikkinen, the youngster coming in on the left of midfield, ahead of Steinert who had shifted across in a rejigged back four. Again, Union looked to encamp themselves in the Jena half from the off, and Janning got a yellow card early on for time-wasting. But still they couldn’t break through the massed ranks in black; the decisive pass too often falling just short; both Heikkinen and Weidauer saw attempted crosses fail to land in the box.

Indeed, Gentile had the first decent effort of the half, her shot blocked by the diligent Weidauer.

Union would be left wondering 'what if?'. Ten minutes in, Orschmann found herself heading goalwards after a corner, and again seeing it come back off the underside of the bar. Janning then did brilliantly to get across to palm Heiseler’s shot from range around her right-hand upright. Gwendolyn Mummert headed Weidauer’s clipped in cross back and over her own bar, before the German Under 21 striker put wide, having teed herself up to shoot at the near post.

It was all Union, but their luck just wasn’t in. Weidauer cracked a first time shot wide with just over an hour played, as Athanasia Moraitou was already primed to replace Hipp in midfield. Halverkamps threw her right boot as high she could, but she just couldn’t reach Steinert’s cross.

Jena settled as the half wore on, and twice Steuerwald made perfectly timed challenges on substitute striker, Isabella Jaron, clearing from her next foray into the box and conceding a corner with just under 20 minutes normal time remaining.

Poese made her next substitution on 75 minutes, when Marina Georgieva replaced Katja Orschmann. But still Union couldn’t catch a break. Twice Weiß barrelled up the right, but was stopped, first by Merza Julevic, then the former Union player, Josephine Bonsu

When Steuerwald tried to get onto a loose pass in the middle, the referee, Riem Hussain, got in her way. Play carried on, however much to Steuerwald, and the Union fans’ distaste, and Jena were suddenly away, Tietz and Jaron playing it between them on the break until the latter was flagged for offside when she seemed certain to finish.

As the rain continued to pour down and as the skies darkened, Union came straight back at them, and it was only the flick of Ihlenburg’s head that stopped Orschmann’s cross from reaching Heiseler in the box, all alone.

Sniffing the chance of catching Union on the break, Jena looked to turn the screw; Georgieva’s sliding tackle being the only thing that stopped Jaron latching onto the next through ball into the Union box.

But despite all they threw at them, Union were constantly held back at the very last. Janning flew out to punch clear when Steuerwald loomed behind her and Orschmann crossed.

With five minutes added on, and the crowd singing as hard as ever, Jena played for time. Gentile cramped up only to jog off easily, Janning wandered as far from the ball as she could before coming back to take the goal kick that had long been signalled. When she got the ball in the Union half, Suya Häring headed straight for the corner and stalled. Orschmann thought Steffi Schmid had handled on the edge of the box; Weidauer was called for the minutest of offsides.

With the final kick of the game Georgieva found Steuerwald in the box, but she couldn’t keep her shot down. She held her head in her hands as her teammates, all packed into the box, slumped to the sodden turf around her. The dream of the quarter-finals had again eluded them.

It just wasn’t their day.