Union Berlin narrowly avoids DFB-Pokal exit with a 4-2 victory over Eintracht Braunschweig
Braunschweig, August 23 – 1. FC Union Berlin only just managed to avoid an early exit from the DFB-Pokal. The Bundesliga club came from behind twice to win 4-2 (1-1) against second-division club Eintracht Braunschweig.
Before 21,532 spectators, Max Marie put the underdog in the lead twice, in the 11th and 54th minutes. Belgian newcomer Zeno Van den Bosch (31st) and his defensive colleague Tom Rothe (63rd) equalized for Union each time after a corner kick. The decisive goals for the Berliners were scored by substitute Marin Ljubicic in the 72nd minute and in the last action of the game (90.+4).
Union lacks old stability
Under their new coach Mauro Lustrinelli, the Berliners are still experiencing major adaptation difficulties – this was evident six days before the first Bundesliga match against Eintracht Frankfurt. The Swiss coach’s new attacking approach is still coming at the expense of the team’s well-known stability. In the seventh minute, goalkeeper Matheo Raab had to react quickly to push a misguided cross from the strong Marie over the crossbar.
Four minutes later, it was 1-0, and Eintracht then made the mistake of pushing too deep into their own half. The Bundesliga side didn’t manage much more than a series of crosses into Braunschweig’s penalty area. Only after a corner kick from Josip Juranovic did the 1.91-meter-tall Van den Bosch jump significantly higher than his opponent and head in the equalizer.
Braunschweig was then much closer to a second goal than Berlin. Noah Katterbach only hit the crossbar in the 36th minute. Aaron Opoku, in particular, repeatedly created danger down the left flank.
Braunschweig misses third goal
This continued after the break. Initially, only Eintracht played. This time, after taking the lead again, they did not retreat. Opoku carelessly missed a great counter-attacking opportunity just two minutes later when the decisive cross pass in numerical superiority didn’t connect (56.).
This was avenged shortly afterwards when the Berliners scored again after a corner kick. From open play, they had only had one chance shortly before, when new striker Emmanuel Latte Lath failed to get to the ball in the penalty area (59.).
The surprising equalizer at that point, however, was the turning point in the game. Union became more confident, and Braunschweig became less dangerous. For the 3-2 goal, goalkeeper Ron-Thorben Hoffmann had initially saved a first shot from Ilyas Ansah. He was powerless against Ljubicic’s rebound. Mehmet Aydin (87th) and Yann Sturm (90th) missed the best chances for a 3-3 equalizer.
Source: https://berliner-abendblatt.de/berlin-news/rueckstand-gedreht-union-mit-glueck-in-braunschweig-weiter-id344954
