The last time these sides met here, it was with their Bundesliga lives on the line. The tension in the former Müngersdorfer Stadion that day was as crippling as the noise was immense when the hosts turned Union’s half time lead around to give themselves a sniff of safety.

It is fair to say that while this game certainly didn’t have that level of anxiety, and it rarely reached anything close to its heights until a frantic last few minutes, but for the almost three-and-a-half-thousand travelling Unioner, that mattered little. As Andras Schäfer’s exquisite half-volley was held back only by the strings holding the back of the net in place, all of that was forgotten. Union were up to eighth at Christmas. They would delight in it all the way home.  

It took a while to get to that point however. Often in the first half on Saturday, neither side really loked like troubling the other. Even after a start that saw Oliver Burke, out on the right, twisting and turning past Eric Martel at speed,  and Frederik Rönnow stopping well from Jakub Kaminski, as he dribbled at Leite, drifting out wide and shooting too close to the Union keeper.

It wasn’t for a lack of passion; things were either just a little imprecise or fell victim to the sides cancelling each other out. Sebastian Sebulonsen caught Ansah as Burke found him in the middle, before getting booked for a crunching tackle on the same man a few minutes later. Jeong then turned beautifully in the box, somehow squeezing off a shot as he completed 180 degrees, one he was certain had taken a deflection as it went wide of Marvin Schwäbe’s right-hand upright.

Jakub Kaminski flashed wide from the edge of the box, then drew another sharp save from Rönnow, when he opted to go for the near post after 25 minutes. Querfeld made a wonderful tackle at the feet of Ragnar Ache, throwing himself at his feet as the ball dropped and the striker looked primed to shoot.

Köln attacked, growing in confidence trough the half, and Diogo Leite was rock solid when Kaminski tried to pass him; Tom Krauß was disbelieving when called up for a foul on Aljoscha Kemlein. The game lulled as it went on, and neither keeper looked in too much trouble, but Union would carve out a lightning break before the half was up, Rönnow finding Jeong immediately, whose cross missed Burke and Ansah by inches, who had covered half the pitch in a couple of strides.

The whistle came promptlyenough. Both sides would need to refine their efforts somewhat for the second half. 

The Union players were the last to leave the pitch - lingering for a drink as their counterparts made their way – and the first back on, unchanged, for the second half. Baumgart, as ever, came after even the Köln players, still in a t-shirt, despite the winter cold.

Krauß was quick out of the traps, too, but only to clatter Ansah, getting a yellow card for his troubles after only a minute or two.

Köln were quick to attack down the left, but the eternal Doekhi was there to stop him. And when Jan Thielmann came down the right, Leite headed clear with ease; at the other end Burke put well over when bursting up the middle of the park.

There were brief moments of flashing skill. Ansah’s touch from Burke’s header wide was a delight, somehow killing the ball at knee height and moving it on to the other foot in the flash of an eye. Later, Köhn skipped past Sebulonsen with a single touch, deftly dancing around him, but still it didn’t come quite to fruition.

Livan Burcu, on for Wooyeong Jeong with 65 minutes played, immediately set off on a long run up the right, slipping past Lund and crossing. Then Schwäbe made the stop of the day so far, flinging himself to his right to save Querfeld’s pinpoint header, hit on the drop with Eric Martel to beat, from the next of Trimmel’s fine set-pieces. The keeper got his fingertips to it, sending the ball crashing away to safety off the post. Union could hardly have come any closer.

With 20 minutes to play, the atmosphere in the stadium dropped for a second time as a medical emergency was attended to in the stands. Both sets of ultras, and all in between, held their tongues. Some things are more important than support at times. It is a comfort that this is still remembered, even in the heat of a battle such as this.

Baumgart took the opportunity to ring in the changes, bringing Josip Juranović, Tim Skarke and Andrej Ilić on for Trimmel, Ansah and Burke, Juranović winning a corner soon afterwards on the left that he hit dep for Burcu. The chance, however, drifted away.

Burcu was keen to get onto the ball, to try and dribble past anyone and everyone who came, and it took three of them to stop him next time up as he charged up the middle.

But then, with just under ten minutes left, Köln were down to ten. If the players’ feet weren’t going to decide this, in a wild next few minutes, it seemed maybe their hands would. Rav van de den Berg inexplicably stuck his out when alone in front of his box, and no pressure on him, other than the distant approach of Kemlein. He protested all he could – it had been his shoulder, he said, though it clearly hadn’t - but to no avail. He trudged off, still muttering.

Soon after, there was the next check for handball after the ball struck the former Union player, Dominique Heintz, in the box, chaos all around him. This time, however, it wasn’t to be. But, enlivened, Union poured on to their hosts. Andras Schäfer cracked one at Martel in the box. Again, came the plea to Christian Dingert. Again, it was turned down.

It was now all Union, and Khedira almost got his third of the month when he shot first-time from Köhn’s excellent cross, only to see it come back off the last man standing in front of the line.

The breakthrough was, however, coming, and with the 90 minutes already up, Schäfer cracked his wonderful shot with his left. It started low, and flew like an arrow at shin-height, rising all the way through the crowd and past the despairing fist of Schwäbe.

To consider that the last time they were here, two seasons ago, Union were on the brink of relegation. Now, things look different. They could have a happy Christmas in eighth.

“That's a nice Christmas present. It was a really tough and difficult game, but that's exactly what we expected. Köln were the better side, especially in the first half hour, but we fought back well and then managed to land the lucky punch. Now we're really happy about the win.” 

“You have to be patient in front of such a loud crowd, and that was our game plan today. Scoring so late in the game wasn't part of it, but that makes it all the more satisfying. We're greedy for second balls in set pieces, that's what sets us apart and it rewarded us for always staying on the ball until the end.” 

“Basically, it was an even game. If it had ended 0-0, everyone would have gone home satisfied. In the end, we had two or three good chances in the last ten minutes and András was perfectly positioned in the back. Then you leave the pitch as the winner.”