Pre-Season Win in the Summer Sun
Union Beat LASK 2-0
The men's team of 1. FC Union Berlin won the first of two Friendlies in Austria on Saturday afternoon. Lucas Tousart and Ilyas Ansah found the net either side of half time in Union's 2-0 win in Linz.
1. FC Union Berlin: Raab (62. Klaus) – Preu (46. Skov), Doekhi (46. Ogbemudia), Kral (46. Querfeld), Leite (46. Rothe), Juranovic (46. Markgraf) – Benes (62. Sliskovic), Tousart (46. Khedira), Haberer (46. Ali) – Ljubicic (62. Ansah), Ilic (46. Skarke)
Linzer ASK: Schillinger – Lebersorger, Cisse (62. Kebe), Boateng (62. Balde), Augustus (84. Midzic) – Sanogo (62. Smakaj), Haider, Flecker – Usor (46. Pintor), Berisha (72. Tchicamboud), Kane (77. Wanker)
Attendance: 6,442
Goals: 1-0 Tousart (45.+2), 2-0 Ansah (63.)
Tousart's late goal gives Union a deserved lead
Lit up by beautiful sunshine and with the constant roar from the away end, it was actually LASK who appeared to be more in sync in the openingminutes, though this may hev had more to do with the fact that this was the end for Linzer ASK's pre-season. They will step out in the ÖFB Cup against Wiener SC next week.
Steffen Baumgart's team impressed, however, compact and organised, and they also caused some early highlights. After almost 20 minutes, Laszló Benes drifted through midfield before he quickly cut in from the left towards the goal and forced Schillinger to make his first save.
Following that, a game of cat and mouse developed. The home side's Cisse passed up a good chance at the far post following a corner, before Usor put his own effort narrowly wide from the middle of the box. Andrej Ilic had Union#s first chance, though he dragged his right-footed shot wide.
Union had to make their first change just before the break due to David Preu's unfortunate injury. The right wing-back attempted to dribble into the penalty area but was stopped in his tracks, bodychecked, and struggled off. A man down, Union opened the scoring. Having won another corner, Diogo Leite hit the ball back across goal to where Lucas Tousart was still looming. he headed home from short-range, powerfully to make things 1-0 at half time.
Union's pressing is rewarded. Ansah's first touch is golden.
Head coach Steffen Baumgart made eight changes at the break, one of the newcomers making an immediate impact. After homegrown youth Andrik Markgraf impressively maneuvered down the left-hand-side, he found Benes with a perfect through ball, slipped in behind the defence. Benes saw Marin Ljubicic making a run into the penalty area and laid the ball off precisely. However, under pressure, Ljubicic missed the chance to extend the lead.
In the 62nd minute, the coaching staff of 1. FC Union Berlin made a further three substitutions in the remaining three positions. And if the last lot had been quick off the mark to make an impression, that was nothing on new signing Ilyas Ansah when he made it 2-0 with practically his first touch. LASK goalkeeper Schillinger overlooked Ansah sneaking in from the side, hitting the ball straight at the Union striker, who only had to tap the ball over the line. He only hadto be there.
With the score no longer in the balance, and the heat refusing to abate, the action on the pitch gradually calmed down. Union hit the occasional high and long ball, but they were plagued by calls for offside. After a brief stoppage time, the referee called a halt to the proceedings.
The reactions to the game
“Back then, this felt like a second home to me," said Marin Ljubicic, returning to his former ground. "I had a great time, and it’s always nice to come back. It was nice to be here again. With my chance, the pitch got somehow a little bit in the way.”
“We are in pre-season, you can notice a bit of fatigue in the boys. But they did what they were supposed to do. Overall, we had some good opportunities, but we could have handled the counter situations better,“ added head coach Steffen Baumgart afterwards.
Outlook
Tomorrow Sunday, the 20th of July 2025, the men's team will play another Friendly when they face the Austrian record champions SK Rapid in Vienna, nearly 200 km away. The match will kick off at 16:00.
