Ailien Poese changed things a little at the break, bringing Samantha Steuerwald and Anna Weiß on for Georgieva and Judith Steinert, the glorious sunshine now at their backs, if the constant changes of players on both sides would become the soundtrack to the second half.

But Union had little time to settle as fellow substitute, Leylla Aydin, ran onto a high ball over the middle, and finished low to Bösl’s right before Katja Orschmann could make up the ground in time to stop her. Aydin was soon enough in the middle of the action at the other end as she and Katja Orschmann battled for a loose ball, no quarters given, at the other end. Orschmann was quickest up off the tatty pitch and cleared, but Aydin wasn’t done, moving fast onto the rebound after Bösl’s next good stop, but put her shot wide of the near post.

The goal-scoring hero of that Regionalliga season, Abu Sabbah, had also come on at the break, though she would screw her first effort wide after the flatly-crossed ball spun awkwardly behind her run, catching her off-balance.

Union countered again, and Wagner’s half-time replacement, Gina Schüller, saved well with her legs when Heiseler powered a left-footed shot her way; Hipp then looked on as her wicked corner flew off a stray head in the box, off the underside of the crossbar, and somehow away to safety. Steuerwald headed the next corner, from the other side, over.

Meanwhile, having gone off, Steinert returned on the opposite side to before, this time replacing Katja Orschmann while Nadine Böhi came on between the posts for Bösl. Orschmann would be back with ten minutes left, replacing Hipp this time.

Much of the sting of the first have had been taken out of the game since the equaliser, however. And a Schüller claim of a high ball when under pressure from Union players all around her, and when Halverkamps thought, just for a moment, she might be able to catch a low volley on the turn, aside, there were few big chances for either side.

Viktoria finished strongly. Aydin shot over at full stretch, following Senanur Yavuz’s bustling run down the right, with just over five minutes to play; Böhi tipped Abu Sabbah’s shot over the bar after she’d been played in by Ugochukwu, before getting down to her right to tip the latter’s own shot away from it path, creeping towards the inside of the upright. But for all their efforts, full time came with the scores level.

It had been an exercise more than worthwhile,