There were six points separating 1. FC Union Berlin and Borussia Mönchengladbach at lunchtime on Saturday, now it is three. Steffen Baumgart had spoken during his press conference of how his team’s numerical advantage should not be seen as being one in terms of great superiority. In this stadium, he said, against this team, it was always going to be tough.

How right he proved, as a turbulent, and often anything other than pretty game, was decided ultimately in favour of the hosts by a marginal penalty call at the death. When they thought they had repelled everything Gladbach had thrown at them with a certain ease – though their 20 shots to Union’s six told part, if not all the story – it all fell away as Kavin Diks concerted his penalty.

But while this had been billed as an inevitable aerial battle, a dog fight, if you will, Union began patiently, moving the ball on the deck, with Aljoscha Kemlein, the metronome in the middle, finding Derrick Köhn with the next of a thousand intricate passes he has made to look so simple this season. His partner, the high-flying, goal scoring Rani Khedira, also made an early impression, darting inside right, taking on Wael Mohya, pushing him back under pressure.

With five minutes on the clock, Burke was almost away, the recipient of the longest of balls, directly out of Frederik Rönnow’s hands. Ultimately, however, there was too much on it, and Moritz Nicolas, the former Union, Gladbach keeper, raced out to snuff out the danger. The Scot would be largely feeding off scraps after that, however as Union concentrated their efforts at the other end.

Jens Castrop turned onto a pass that caught Rönnow in two minds, and only a last-minute lunge from Christopher Trimmel denied him as he tried to side foot the ball goalwards from the angle on the right. Mohya would have a better chance soon afterwards, after Joseph Scally found the youngster with a neat header, but opting to shoot first time, he put over the bar.

Andras Schäfer had Union’s first effort, a 30 yarder after ten minutes, that bounced awkwardly on its way, but it rarely looked like troubling Nicolas.

Gladbach were determined opponents, just as Baumgart had said they would be, and they would have the better of the few opportunities in the first half. After their second corner in a row, Rönnow pulled off a good stop, fingertipping danger-man, Haris Tabakovic’s header over the bar. Trimmel saw yellow when he dragged back Castrop as he passed the halfway line, but would brush the same man aside only two minutes later, showing all his experience and nous as he shepherded the ball safely away.

Castrop, at the heart of everything, then bent his shot over the bar after Mohya’s clever backheel gave him the ball and half-a-second’s time and space to eye up the shot. He knew he should have done better, but in that he was far from alone. Gladbach were controlling the game, and as such there was frustration at Rocco Reitz’s dive in the box, as Stanley Nsoki looked on impassively from behind, his arms in the air. Reitz complained about his booking, but few bought his outrage.

It was all a little inelegant at this stage, with neither side really managing to create a moment of magic to cut through the morass in midfield. Scally was the next to go in the book, catching the flying Schäfer from behind, halfway into the Gladbach half. Trimmel stood over the resulting free kick, clipping it in towards Danilho Doekhi, but the opportunity having drifted away, Gladbach broke and Rönnow had to rush out to clear ahead of the onrushing Tabakovic.

Union were superb at the back, however, and Nsoki did wonderfully to hold off Franck Honorat, when the last man back, using a mixture of strength, balance and body position, again, to see off the danger, even as Tabakovic raced in to join the fray.

Khedira, already enjoying his best ever season in front of goal was a whisker away from adding to his five goals for the season after Derrick Köhn’s free kick dropped his way. Nicolas flew out to ouch clear of the Union vice-captain, right-handed at hip height.

As the first half was all but over, Philipp Sander let fly from 30 yards. Rönnow did well to parry the shot as it sprung up off the turf, but he could only put it into the path of Kevin Diks. Diks had time to plant his header into a now empty goal but inexplicably put it over the bar. It was the biggest opportunity, and the last touch of the half.

Baumgart took off Trimmel at the break, presumably with an eye on the yellow card he had received earlier, replacing him with Janik Haberer who had been a doubt before today. But it took a moment for things to re-start, as referee, Matthias Jöllenbeck, required a new headset. And, they say that technology will make everything better.

With play eventually underway again, Union looked to get onto the front foot, with Burke and Jeong combining. Nsoki then drove forwards, shifting the ball onto his right, but after the ball fell to Jeong, again the moment passed without a chance carved out.

Gladbach countered, but Mohya overhit his cross from the left, bending it out of play, somehow summing up much of what had come before. Castrop put one from a similar, if slightly deeper position straight into Rönnow’s clutches. Sander did better with his next shot from range, but still it flew just wide of Union’s right-hand upright.

With an hour gone, the pitch wasn’t exactly glittering. When Honorat sprung onto Nsoki’s slightly under-hit backpass, slipping the ball through to Mohya, the Gladbach man was again bustled and muscled off the ball by the watchful Querfeld.

Haberer was booked for his lunge on Mohya, as was Khedira for his protestations. But then, on 65 minutes, Gladbach thought they had the lead. Reitz broke through, inside left, finding Diks whose rising, hard finish was buried into the roof of the net, but after what felt like a lifetime, word came from the video assistant that Reitz had strayed offside by the width of a shoulder in the buildup. The counter was reset; the game remained goalless.

And when Rönnow came out to claim the next fruitless cross, lobbed harmlessly into his box, Kevin Stöger cried out in frustration. Rönnow was equal to everything they threw his way.

Baumgart reacted to the pressure, bringing on Alex Král and Livan Burcu for Kemlein and Jeong. Král was quickly into things but couldn’t get enough width on his shot from outside the box to really cause Nicolas too many issues as he dived to his left onto the ball.

Just after substitute Hugo Bolin put Gladbach’s next half-chance wide, Baumgart had his final throw of the dice, bringing on Ilyas Ansah for the tireless, if chanceless Burke. By that point, Union were content, sapping the host’s confidence with every clearance. Nsoki headed Castrop’s cross away; Querfeld booted Stöger’s into row Z.

Then when it really came down to it, when it seemed to be deserting them, a mixture of fortune and their superb goalkeeper saw things fall again in Union’s favour. Reitz saw his shot take the nastiest flick on its way towards goal, leaving Rönnow wrong-footed and having to parry, off balance, with a quickly stuck out right hand. Engelhardt then couldn’t beat the stopper, now back in control, with the follow-up.

But on the stroke of 90 minutes, destiny shrugged off the battling Union side, turning again the way of the hosts as Nsoki caught Bolin on the very edge of the box in the act of flinging a boot at the ball, trying to clear. Again, there was an endless wait – it was the tightest of calls, right on the 18-yard line -  but this time word came down from above that it was a penalty.  Jöllenbeck pointed to the spot.

Diks, his memories of his one chance spurned and the other turned down, fresh, gave Rönnow no chance this time, hitting it firmly to the keeper’s right having sent him the wrong way.

Union rallied a final time, and Rönnow was up for the corner that Král won, almost getting on the end of a short variation but seeing the ball slip under his boot. Ansah drove a final time into the box, Haberer thought he’d won a final corner, but it wasn’t to be.

Baumgart had been right all along. Sometimes games like these are decided on the finest of margins. Sometimes, you just need to dust yourself down and move on to the next game.