Three games, three defeats, and for the first time in their young Bundesliga history, 1. FC Union have failed to score three times in a row. Since the departure of Max Kruse, things have not been going well for the Eisernen. Top goal scorer Taiwo Awoniyi is also weakening.
The Nigerian harmonised well with Kruse at the beginning of the season. Here the dynamic centre forward with his runs into the depths, there the playful idea generator. “Max always played a bit behind me and always knew when to play which ball. He had his eyes everywhere, as a striker you just had to look: Where is space to sprint in?”,
Kruse will be missed
Kruse has been missing since the end of January. When the 33-year-old made a surprise move to VfL Wolfsburg, Awoniyi had just returned to Berlin from the Africa Cup. Since then, however, the Eisernen’s top scorer with nine goals has still been searching for his top form. Union’s offensive problems also have to do with Awoniyi, who, like his team-mates, has not been consistent enough in his use of chances lately, and who has also recently shown increased technical weaknesses in receiving and taking the ball. “Taiwo also had his opportunities. He was also unlucky with one or two actions. But he also lacks the final conviction, the final consistency to score a goal,” said Union coach Urs Fischer after Saturday’s 0:1 in Bielefeld.
For more than two months and six games, Awoniyi, who did not make an appearance for his club in January due to his participation in the Africa Cup, has been waiting for a goal for Union. His last goal came in early December in a 2-1 win over RB Leipzig. Since his return from the continental tournament in Cameroon, he has been in the starting eleven three times, but was not convincing in the games in Augsburg (0:2), against Dortmund (0:3) and in Bielefeld. On Saturday at the Alm, the 24-year-old had one of the visitors’ best chances in the 66th minute, but failed to beat Bielefeld goalkeeper Stefan Ortega Moreno, who prevented the equaliser with a foot save.
Union without a goal in three games
But it’s not just Awoniyi who is struggling to score for Union at the moment. The Köpenicker have been waiting for a goal for three games, although the team has created enough chances even without Kruse. “In the end, I repeat myself what I’ve already had to say after the past two games: if you don’t score when you have so many chances, it’s going to be difficult to take a point,” Fischer said in Bielefeld.
But the Swiss, who celebrated his 56th birthday on Sunday, was not about to let the defeat in East Westphalia spoil his special day. “It would be bad if I didn’t celebrate my birthday because we lost in Bielefeld. You should separate private and business matters. I will fly home to my family and enjoy the few hours with them,” said Fischer. Nor was he about to be troubled by his team’s recent three clean sheets, after all, Union have 34 points with the target of 40 points in sight. “We had three chances to get closer to our goal of staying in the class. We didn’t take a point. But there are still enough games to take the points and reach the target,” said Union’s coach.
