Of course, it was moving as Urs Fischer and Markus Hoffmann received their introductions before the first Bundesliga game of 2026 at the Alte Försterei. How could it not be so? Few had been as integral to Union’s place as a regular in the Bundesliga as they. But times change. They took their applause as the new men in charge of Mainz, and everybody moved on.

There were bigger things at stake today, for the crowd, as well as for their own relegation threatened side. Indeed, their charges took the unusual decision to make the home side attack the Waldseite in the first half.

But Union... Well, under Steffen Baumgart, they were in eighth as the new year dawned, the only flecks on their record being those thrown up by the pitch, a muddy mess already during the warmups; as Andrej Ilić tried to turn in the first minute, he carved a huge chunk out with the  twisting of his boots, like he was uncorking a swamp.

This superbly fought-for point made them unbeaten in three. Their comeback showed, too, they are as spirited as ever they were before.

And if the ball was going to roll only reluctantly, Union would put it through the golden fringed, clear blue skies, as Derrick Köhn did early on, finding  Danilho Doekhi - though the defender’s header went well over the bar. But they weren’t afraid of putting their passes together either; Aljoscha Kemlein and Rani Khedira linked up neatly, their passes short and sharp, as crisp as the air.

The excellent Livan Burcu, celebrating his first Bundesliga start, too, seemed unperturbed, running 25 yards, the ball glued to his toe, twisting Kaishu Sano one way and the next as he ran up the middle.

Khedira came closest after five minutes, rolling his shot just wide of the back post from a clever little cut-back from Oliver Burke.

Frederick Rönnow, however, made the first save of note after ten minutes when Nadiem Amiri put his header too close to the Union stopper, following Jae Sung Lee’s clipped ball into the box. It was a move they’d repeat later, to far greater affect.

Janik Haberer made a fine, thundering stop on that other former Unioner, Benedict Hollerbach, soon afterwards, launching into his tackle through the mire on Union’s left. It was a day of many returns, of course, and Hollerbach would put his own effort too close to his old teammate, Rönnow, on quarter  of an hour, looking to shoot across him when suddenly a gap opened up. He was then there when Diogo Leite got booked four minutes later, dramatically falling under the Portuguese’s challenge while out right this time.

For all its promise the game drifted as the half went on, with the Mainz backline stolid and resolute in the face of Union’s greater possession and intent; with Amiri, twice, and Phillip Tietz both going down under seemingly innocuous challenges and Danny Da Costa and Dominik Kohr stepping up to stifle Union when trying to play up through midfield. Rönnow was again there when Amiri let off a rare shot from range.

But it was Amiri who opened the scoring, when put through by another clever, bending pass from Lee - just as they had before - taking it on the chest before flashing his left-footed shot past the helpless Rönnow.

Union countered, and Burcu came close almost immediately, but still they struggled to break Mainz down. Köhn’s well shaped volley crashed into Silvan Wilmer almost as soon as he hit it. Burcu’s delightful flick on the turn was quickly snuffed out by the alert Kohr. Doekhi fought his way onto the ball after Köhn’s corner, but his scuffed effort dribbled wide.

Burke then had the host’s best chance of the half with only two minutes of normal time remaining. Daniel Batz in the guests’ goal, could only palm Burcu’s shot the Scotsman’s way, but he side-footed his volley over, holding his head as he saw it fly over the bar harmlessly. Ilić couldn’t quite reach Leite’s cross from the left before the half was up, and as they strived to break through before the interval.

They would save their drama for later.

The second half started stiltedly, following a moving tribute and consequent silence for the former stadium announcer and lifelong Unioner, André Rolle. First Haberer left Widmer on the  ground with a well-timed crunch on the edge of the Union box, then as Tietz caught Köhn with an elbow.

But Union battled gamely, with Burcu again at the centre of their best moments, cutting inside from the inside right, only for Stefan Bell to thwart him. Khedira, lunging while already on the ground couldn’t quite make anything of the now ill-tempered ball. It was all a little ungainly. Ilić was in there moments later as players became a blur, flailing and lunging, striving to make the most of the limited space around them. Doekhi was booked; Widmer left Burcu in a heap after crashing him into the hoardings; Tietz dragged Leite down

Baumgart, as ever, prowled his technical area, his knee-length sleeping-bag-like coat as sure a sign of the temperatures as the snow, predicted at all points during the last 48 hours, started to fall.

With an hour gone, Burke came close again, this time stabbing the ball towards the near post, but Batz got across in time to push it out for a corner.

Kemlein and Burcu were taken out soon afterwards, replaced by Andras Scahäfer and Ilyas Ansah, the latter quickly brought into play by Ilić, holding up the ball and laying it off while under the greatest pressure from Bell in the centre-circle.

But again, against the run of play, the guests would extend their lead after 69 minutes when Hollerbach timed his run in at the back post perfectly to meet Nikolas Veratsching’s low cross at full stretch. It was almost inevitable that on this day of all, it would be he that turned the screw. He held his hands up, seemingly unwilling to celebrate. 

He almost had to make the decision again when, after Christopher Trimmel and Wooyeong Jeong had replaced Haberer and Burke, he hit the bar, falling backwards and shooting first time.

But Union weren’t to give up. And when Ilić almost conjured a chance for  Ansah, the ball coming inadvertently off him, Batz held firmly onto it, throwing himself like a comic strip of a soldier onto a mine, holding it for as long as he could under his body.

They were knocking on the door, and after a lovely pass from Ansah out left to Köhn, the full-back crossed perfectly for Jeong to score, flicking his diving header past a helpless Batz.

Then, it could have been level, maybe it should have been. After Schäfer hit the bar with the loveliest of lobs, Ilić somehow volleyed the return over the bar with the side of his foot. It had caught him by surprise; he couldn’t believe it. Nor could the fans. But Union were ascendant now, Mainz hanging on, with the hosts moving to a back four as Marin Ljubicic replaced Leite for the final ten minutes.

Finally, with 85 minutes gone, Union got the second goal they deserved. Köhn whipped another free-kick into the box from where Doekhi headed home, the ball crashing off the bar. There was some confusion as to whether it would go to the defender or Ljubicic, who had punced onto the stray ball, crashing it into the net to be certain, but the decisive touch seemed to have belonged to Doekhi. He certainly celebrated as such.

They were now irrepressible in search of the winner, with Ansah wreaking havoc on the left, and ten Mainz players now packed into their box. Ljubicic looked reborn, forcing Batz into a wild clearance that only went as far as it did high, before almost finding Trimmel on the right with a clever pass, switched cross-field.

With three minutes added on, and all hell breaking loose as the two sides now traded blow for blow, the stadium was as loud as it had been all day; Trimmel getting as great a cheer for his last ditch clearance on the slide as anything else.

But for all that, there were to be no further goals, the storm blew itself out. The scores stayed level, and probably rightly so. It had been a hell of a return all round.

“We're delighted with the point, which was very important today. It puts us in a good position ahead of the upcoming midweek fixtures. Before the game, the coach told us that it's not just the starting 11 who are important, but that we need everyone. As a substitute, you always want to bring new energy to the game anyway.” 

“When you're 2-0 down and end up scoring two goals, you're happy with the point. It was a good reaction from the team, but I also think we didn't play badly before that. In the end, we just pushed forward more, put Mainz under pressure, and it paid off in the end.” 

“We saw mentality and willingness to run, which is what Union stand for. In this stadium, there is fire and hard work against the ball. The fact that we turned a 2-0 deficit into a 2-2 draw today speaks volumes about the team's morale, and I also saw a good and exciting game today.”