It had been one day short of a year since Arminia Bielefeld knocked 1. FC Union Berlin out of the DFB Pokal at this stage. Union had hit both the post and bar in that encounter – what’s that about the good old days? – but few in blue will neither care nor remember Rani Khedira and Yorbe Vertessen’s efforts back then. They were at the beginning of a historic run that led them to the final.

Their efforts on a fantastic evening at the Alte Försterei came close to matching it. But this Union side are made of tougher stuff, and as legs started to give and the crowd roared ever louder, it was they who would settle the old score.

But that was all still to come. Before kick off the minute’s silence for Jochen Lesching was impeccable. The founder of Union’s foundation will be missed by everyone at the club he loved, and a single flame burned in the Waldseite for him before it opened up into a glorious red and yellow sunset, the legend “Pokal-Alarm am Muggelsee”, a riff on the cult film “Hai Alarm...”,  emblazoned across the front.

But while the silence held Bielefeld were the first onto the front foot, Frederik Rönnow saving well with his feet from Joel Grodowski. Union would have their first effort on goal following a corner a couple of minutes later, however, as first Danilho Doekhi, then Andrej Ilić won headers in the box. Ilyas Ansah slashed a volley just over the bar from a tight angle on the right with eight minutes gone, the ball sitting up nicely for the striker.

Their opener would come, not from a striker though, but from the centre-back Leopold Querfeld. Christopher Trimmel launched a perfect free kick into the box, where the Austrian rose a metre higher in the box than anyone else around him, planting his header to Jonas Kersken’s left. The delivery was impeccable, the connection perfect, the keeper never stood a chance.

Andrej Ilić came close two minutes later when Tom Rothe cut inside and found him with a low pass in from the left. He spun away from Maximilian Großer and shot, but the defender just managed to get his trailing leg in the way, and the heroic Bielefeld keeper, Jonas Kersken, sprung backwards to mop up the shot, its bite taken out by the deflection.

It was an often-tetchy affair, and Monju Momuluh got a talking to from vice-captain, Khedira, having tumbled too easily as he ran into the Union box, crumpling under Diogo Leite’s challenge. But he’d have his moment.

Ansah attacked from the second the corner was won back, beating Tim Handwerker on the outside with a now familiar mixture of pace, strength and skill, and Kersken had to stick a boot out to stop his shot heading for the back post.

The hosts attacks were coming down both flanks, and Ilić again went close from Skarke’s cross from the right. His header flashed across goal and wide. And when Momuluh looked to attack down the Bielefeld right wing, Andras Schäfer stopped him with a tackle as immaculate as his opening statement on Mael Corboz was rough.

The game exploded into life, however, and Bielefeld got back into things with 27 minutes gone, Momuluh sneaking in as confusion suddenly reigned in the Union box, stooping to loop a header over the stricken Rönnow.

Things grew wild. Schäfer got booked; Noah Sarenren Bazee put a header wide he should’ve got on target; Skarke shot over from outside the box; Rothe left Sarenren Bazee in a heap; Joel Felix and Khedira tussled to the right of the Bielefeld box; Sarenren Bazee scuffed wide with Rönnow sprawling, his near post covered, nonetheless. Rönnow stopped Benjamin Boakye’s shot, diving to his left.

With 35 minutes played Trimmel played the cleverest of corners out low to Ansah who cracked his shot towards goal, the ball flying still as it rocketed before being deflected inches wide.

Before the half was up Rothe and Ansah would go for the same ball as it dropped from a great height in the Bielefeld box. Großer clattered Trimmel, Skarke making up for it within a minute, before Grodowski seemingly hurt himself having caught Leite in the head. 

It was almost fitting. If it hadn’t all been pretty, this cup-tie was utterly engrossing, and the sides went in after two minutes added-on level.

The second half started with Doekhi and Sarenren Bazee clashing, the Bielefelder on the floor, the Unioner clutching his head. As blue smoke swirled under the floodlights Trimmel clipped the ball into the box, flicked on by Rothe; he would have a second bite of the cherry as he powered a header goalwards, but Kersken pounced to his right to palm it away.

Rothe was involved again almost immediately, crossing for Ilić, but Großer managed to get enough on it to head out for another corner. Spurred on by their  own packed away  end, Bielefeld were refusing to give up, and Marius Wörl hit his shot wide at the other end  after Sarenren Bazee beat Trimmel, but was forced to turn back by the dogged captain. Querfeld did well to get in ahead of Grodowski before Union had a huge let-off as Sareneren Bazee hit the post with 55 minutes gone, the result  of a clever free kick, flicked with a back-heel across goal.

Steffen Baumgart made his first changes on the hour, bringing on Aljoscha Kemlein and Wooyeong Jeong for Schäfer and Ansah, and immediately Union attacked again. When Felix tussled with Jeong on the Bielefeld goal-line, somehow winning a free kick, Handwerker slapped his palm.  They were going to fight for this all the way. Kersken held  the ball as long as he could when Querfeld flicked a header his way. 

Baumgart had another trick up his sleeve when, on 65 minutes, he gave a first team, competitive debut to the 18-year-old Dmytro Bogdanov alongside Oliver Burke, replacing Skarke  and Ilić.

Rönnow still had to clean up as Grodowski and Sarenren Bazee tried to bustle the ball past him and over the line, Querfeld joining the fray, before Bogdanov had his first sniff of goal, planting his header from Trimmel’s cross just too close to Kersken. Kersken then had to punch clear when Rothe’s deep, swinging cross saw Jeong darting onto it at the back post.

Baumgart made his final change when he took off Trimmel, replacing him with Janik Haberer with 15 minutes of normal time to play.

Now with far more of the ball, still Union attacked, and even as Rönnow gave treatment to the cramping Wörl, Burke headed over. After Doekhi had played an exquisite ball through Marvin Mehlem’s legs, the Scot was then a whisker away from receiving the ball at his feet, facing goal, until Felix dived in, just in time.

Having found themselves encamped in their own half as the final ten minutes played out, Bielefeld mounted a final attack. Rönnow however, was equal to Isiah Young’s effort, having tricked his way across the edge of the box. But Doekhi came closer still, and God only knows how Kersken kept his crisp and powerful shot out with the four minutes added on already being played. They wouldn’t be enough to see the deadlock broken.

As they prepared for extra time the Union players came together at the touchline, but broke their huddle early, with Rönnow  having the last words, urging his team-mates on, gesticulating, still radiating calm. It showed as he rose to claim a deep free kick above his head a minute after the second re-start.

Doekhi would go in the book though soon after when he caught Young late as Bielefeld broke, switching the ball from right to left. He was willing to take it on the chin, his intervention was probably vital as the game grew more and more ragged. Baumgart was raging in his area as the referee, Harm Osmers, gave a free  kick for a foul by Haberer on Boakye, as they went for a  50-50 ball.

With the guests cramping up every time the ball went out, and the home fans’ annoyance growing with every stoppage, the game stuttered, neither side able to make much of their chances, such as when Young shot too close to Rönnow,  or when Rothe  couldn’t keep his volley down.

Then came the moment that would define the tie. With the second half of eytra time already three minutes old, Kersken made another superb stop  from Rothe. The ball however wouldn’t come clear. Chaos reigned as two further shots were fired on goal, both times the ball being repelled somehow.

But it finally dropped to that man again, Doekhi. Having scored two a fortnight ago against Gladbach he belted the ball, rising all the way into the roof of the net. The Alte Försterei exploded, a mixture of joy, of relief, of utter, sheer disbelief.

It wasn’t over and as Young bore down on Rönnow’s goal the sound of 20,000 hearts in mouths rang out, but he paused for a moment, and Union cleared their lines once more. Bielefeld threw everything they had left at Union, and with 114 minutes on the clock it was Kerskens, up for the corner, who headed the next set-piece wide.

Amidst the madness, Leite lay on the floor in agony, Rönnow over him. Kerskens’ night wasn’t over yet though, and he did marvellously to somehow stop Bogdanov, having been rounded by the youngster, flinging himself back and at his feet to claw the ball away.

He was up again for the next free kick, having to drag his way back into his goal after Young shot wide from an angle. But for all his efforts, for all his team-mates gave, the final whistle finally came.

Shattered through their efforts, but delighted, they were through to the next round. After 364 days, Union had settled their score.

"In cup competitions, it's all about being eliminated or advancing, so every team gives it their all until the very last second. I think it was particularly evident in extra time that we had a little more energy left than Arminia. That allowed us to dictate the game more and more, remain patient and ultimately take a deserved lead once again. We knew it would be extremely difficult and are now delighted to have progressed,"

‘It was a tough game, we had to run a lot. But in the end, it was a successful and enjoyable evening, and the goal in particular was obviously a great moment. We started well in the game itself; we knew what to expect, that Bielefeld would run a lot and work hard. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough in the 90 minutes overall, but we kept at it and managed to get the result in the end.’ 

"Ultimately, it's evenings like these that are really enjoyable. Today was the cup fight we expected. We held our own and, in my opinion, deserved the victory. But it was hard work. Bielefeld also played very well, so well that we lost our rhythm at times. But in the second half and in extra time, we dominated the game and were rewarded for it."