1. FC Union Berlin’s women’s team beat Hamburger SV 2-1 on Saturday afternoon in their return to the 2. Liga after the winter break. Having gone a goal down after only a minute, the guests rallied through Lisa Heiseler’s equaliser, before the captain rounded things off in style with a brilliant lob after 56 minutes.

1. FC Union Berlin: Bösl – Weiß, Schneider, Niesler, Steinert – Köster, Moraitou (67. Frank), Heiseler (86. Markou) – Metzker (67. Halverkamps), D. Orschmann (78. Janez), Reissner (78. Heikkinen) 

Hamburger SV: Schuldt – Lahr, Böhler, Hirche, Stöckmann – Stoldt (66. Braun), Wrede (46. Büchele), Machtens – Kardesler (66. Krüger), Meyer, Baum (66. Woelki)

The starting XI

Ailien Poese started her team’s return to league action with a change in formation, as well as the addition of two new signings. In goal was her number one, Cara Bösl, but she was behind a back four of, from left to right, Judith Steinert, the debutant Tomke Schneider, Charleen Niesler who was making her first start since October, and Anna Weiß.

Union’s other newcomer in the starting lineup was Leonie Köster, at the back of midfield behind the pairing of captain Lisa Heiseler and Athanasia Moraitou. This meant that Naika Reissner and Pia Metzker would be either side of Dina Orschmann, the spearhead of attack.

Goals 1-0 Kardesler (2.), 1-1 Heiseler (38.), 1-2 Heiseler (56.)

Kardesler give HSV the earliest of leads, but Heiseler draws Union level

The Volksparkstadion loomed over the pitch, browning, muddy patches breaking up the threadbare grass. But the fans that ran the length of tht ouchline in its shadow were unpeturbed. For despite the impression given by the setting, this was a huge game, the resumption of the women’s 2. Liga, with two of its form teams.

Both have the highest of ambitions. Both were full of confidence.

But it was the hosts, off the back of an unbeaten winter break, who started off the quickest, just as they did the last time these sides met on the very first day of the season. Then, they went a goal up after seven minutes, this time it was less.

Indeed, Hamburg won a corner in the first minute, cleared with a certain agricultural nature, fitting to the state of the pitch, that fell only to the swinging right boot of Vildan Kardesler. She caught the ball from the edge of the box cleanly, and though Cara Bösl in Union’s goal went the right way, she seemed to see it late, her dive rightwards in vain.

Union were stunned, and clawed their way back into things, Inga Schuldt making a sharp stop from Dina Orschmann’s fifth minute drive, but they were curiously lax at the back during those opening phases, and with eight minutes played it took a perfectly timed slide, and well set reaction block from Charleen Niesler and Bösl within moments of each other to deny their hosts a second.

Pia Metzker came close; Heiseler won a header in the box but couldn’t get it on target, but Orschmann came closest, and was holding her head in her hands with almost 20 minutes played, disbelieving that her superb effort from the edge of the box had been somehow cleared from the line.

Following the bristling opening period, the game settled into a somewhat more prosaic rhythm, as both defences settled in, and the chances grew rarer. Union’s newcomer, Tomke Schneider, made the next important intervention, getting to the dangerous Christin Meyer just in time as the Hamburg striker looked to shoot from the edge of the box, before Naika Reissner won a free kick with a typical run, moving left and right on her way from the centre circle to the edge of the box.

Athanasia Moraitou took it with her left, swinging the ball out towards the back post where Anna Weiß brought it down, sending it back into the box. Now all chaos was breaking out, Pia Metzker caught it, and as the ball dropped Naika Reissner was cool enough to move it on, just a touch, for Lisa Heiseler to stroke it home.

Union, buoyed by the equaliser, were close to adding a second, when Heiseler looked to win the ball out on the right with the HSV keeper, Inga Schuldt, suddenly out of position, but they won it back just in time. Schuldt then wobbled as she came out to try and claim an Anna Weiß cross from the right, but again one of her defenders got her out of trouble.

But the keeper would make up for any of those uncertainties when she stopped Reissner from finishing, seconds from the whistle being blown. It came at almost the wrong time for the guests. They had the wind in their sails.

Heiseler works her magic to give Union the three points

Union came out unchanged after the break, and were straight onto the attack, only hindered by a slight lapse of communication as Heiseler put a through ball just behind a Reissner who had already set off on her sprint, expecting it in front of her.

The excellent Orschmann thought she had won a penalty with ten minutes played of the second half, but her pleas – along with those of the massed ranks of the union fans, making a glorious racket along the touchline – were dismissed by referee, Lara Wolf, with little second thought.

But it wouldn’t be long until Union broke through again, again through the vision and determination of their captain. As Heiseler picked up the ball just outside the box she looked up to see Schuldt off her line and lifted the ball over her. It was a goal scored with the wit of a showman, the slight and craft of a cat burglar.

Union were now all over their hosts, and Heiseler was a whisker away from her hat-trick as she hit the bar from a corner, with an hour gone. This would be the cue for Poese to make her first changes, taking off the tiring Moraitou and Metzker for Celine Frank and Antonia Halverkamps. The change signalled her intention to try to keep a lid on things, and, accordingly, HSV were largely restricted to half chances. Bösl the next shot that came her way with ease; Niesler charged one out for a corner, having got in just the right place.

Poese replaced Orschmann, bringing on Korina Janež for the final ten minutes, alongside Ida Heikkinen for the ever-industrious Reissner.

But if she thought that it would be easy, that they would be able to sail their way through to the final whistle, she had another think coming. With ten minutes to play Niesler, who had played so well in her return to the starting eleven, stood up as a Hamburg player tried to beat her. She stayed standing, while her opponent crumpled to the ground. Wolf didn’t think twice and showed her a second yellow. It was heart-breaking for Niesler, Union born and bred. She trudged to the touchlines, the angry voices of the Union fans giving her support all the way.

Union, however, are made of some tough stuff, and they would see the remaining time out without too many dangers coming their way. In fact, there was a positive to be seen in the return to the pitch of the Greek international, Eleni Markou, following the injury that saw her miss the last games of the last year.

Union were back with a bang. The re-start of the biggest season in their history could, in the end, have hardly gone any better

The views on the game

‘We were relatively hectic at the start and of course had a bit of bad luck with the Sunday goal in the second minute, which doesn't happen every day. But after that, we did well, fought hard and also had a lot of chances in the first half. At the very end, we also defended well with ten players. We simply had the absolute will to win the game today,’ explained debutant Tomke Schneider after the match.

 ‘We're delighted to have secured the three points today. The win was also very important for us today to extend our lead over HSV and make a successful start to the second half of the season. In the first leg, we often talked about the fact that we didn't make the most of our chances and today we were simply a bit more ruthless in that respect,’ said a delighted Lisa Heiseler about the win. 

‘We reacted very well to falling behind, believed in ourselves and repeatedly created good chances to score. Even though we didn't capitalise on them in the first half, we put up a good fight throughout the match and were able to turn the game around in the end. So we're delighted with the three points,’ summarised head coach Ailien Poese.