WITHthe repertoire of 1. FC Union fans includes a song that they always sing towards the end of a half or a game. “FC Union, our love, our team, our pride, our club, Union Berlin,” it says. The rhythmic singing is used to unleash strength in the players or to simply celebrate the team. In the Berlin derby against Hertha BSC, the spectators in the An der Alten Försterei stadium began much earlier than usual. The said lines were heard for the first time after just under half an hour. Union fans could afford the premature celebration, so their team was superior over the entire season. Union won 2-0 against their rivals from the west of Berlin and continues to keep up with the top places in the table.
The meeting had been debated as excitedly as always when the two clubs meet, only this time it was less about sporting issues. A little more than 22,000 crowded the stands. Sold out in days of the pandemic flaring up again. Only those who had been vaccinated or who had recovered were allowed, and Union employed more control staff than usual at the entrances.
How complicated the situation can be in Bundesliga teams because of the virus was shown by the example of Hertha’s Stevan Jovetic. The striker tested positive with the national team of Montenegro, after a few days the vaccinated Jovetic was negative again. Because of this, he was allowed to travel to Berlin on Thursday, and an investigation on Friday should reveal whether he is operational. Jovetic was again tested positive, Hertha missed him for the time being.
Hertha without danger
Without the tech-savvy striker, Hertha barely managed to ignite danger for over 90 minutes. Union was the more active and also more dangerous team from the start. Aggressive at the start, the hosts put Hertha under pressure immediately. Marton Dardai, son of Hertha coach Pal, could only knock the ball away uncontrollably. Dardai was also the focus of the next dangerous action, but this time the 19-year-old defender got away with it less well. He couldn’t really hit a ball from Union player Niko Gießelmann, striker Taiwo Awoniyi immediately moved towards the goal and scored to make it 1-0 (8th).
The early leadership gave Union a lot of security, while Hertha seemed paralyzed. Grisha Prömel thundered the ball against the crossbar (11th). A possible goal because of offside would not have counted, but the crashing shot was another impact hit. Hertha staggered, Suat Serdar simply slumped in the opposing penalty area – far too little for a penalty. Union stood safer on the grass, with confidence. Kruse failed from an acute angle to Hertha’s goalkeeper Alexander Schwolow (23rd).
“The opponent was better, more dynamic, stronger,” said Hertha’s coach Pal Dardai later. He had to watch helplessly as his team conceded the second goal. After a corner, the ball flew to the rear corner of the penalty area, from where Christopher Trimmel chased it into the goal with a direct shot (30th). “The goals we conceded were unnecessary,” said Dardai. That was correct in detail, but the hits reflected Union’s oppressive superiority. “We were superior in all respects. It has been seen what we are capable of. We left our hearts on the pitch, as it should be in a derby, “said Unions Max Kruse on Sky TV.
It took until the 37th minute before Hertha came dangerously in front of the opposing goal. A shot from Peter Pekarik whizzed past below. The Slovak was back in focus shortly before the break when his header just overran the goal line. The goal did not count after a long observation by the video referee, Krzysztof Piatek had previously been millimeters offside. The canceled goal was another mental setback for Hertha, from which the guests should not recover.
Union was closer to the third goal than Hertha to the first throughout the second half. Kruse and Grisha Prömel forgave the early decision after an hour. Genki Haraguchi, formerly in action for Hertha and since the summer at Union, was also unlucky, his attempt was blocked (62nd). Time passed, Hertha couldn’t think of anything. Much to the displeasure of around 2000 guest fans. In the closing minutes, Hertha’s supporters set off the first smoke bombs, and fog came up. However, there were no riots like two years ago, and the situation calmed down again. Union fans sang “Stadtmeister, Stadtmeister, Berlin’s number one”. This game left no doubt about that.
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