Union Berlin did not manage more than a 1-1 draw in the showdown against Slavia Prague and was thus eliminated from the Europa Conference League. The Eisern had too little to offer going forward, and Kruse was unable to score more than one goal.
Union coach Urs Fischer made a change between the posts for the showdown against Slavia Prague: In contrast to the 2:1 against Leipzig, Rönnow replaced Luthe in goal from the start and Trimmel started on the right wing for Ryerson. Prague coach Jindrich Trpisovsky was plagued by personnel problems before the match, so the Czechs played with an unusual three-man backline – and Union had problems with that right from the start.
Slavia were very compact, allowed little and let the Eisern have the ball for the most part. However, Fischer’s team did not make enough of it in the first half, only Kruse was dangerous once with a deflected shot (18th). The visitors acted calmly, made hardly any mistakes and had the best chance in the first half: After Dorley had won the ball from Trimmel on the baseline, Holes finished centrally from 15 metres, but his left-footed shot hit the crossbar (34th).
Unsteadiness after the restart
In the second half, the home side, who still needed a goal, were unusually nervous at first – and this resulted in the worst case scenario: Baumgartl played a ball from the left flank under pressure into the centre, but right into the foot of Schranz. The Prague striker marched into the penalty area on the right side and smashed the ball humorlessly into the top left corner with his right hand (50th). Shortly afterwards, Knoche also made a mistake, leaving Olayinka free in front of Rönnow, but his shot hit the right post (55).
So Union stayed in business – and was back in the game after 64 minutes thanks to Kruse: After a corner from the right, he was the quickest to react, and after the rebound, he finished with the second contact and was lucky that his shot was deflected unstoppable.
Rönnow won’t be a hero
The crowd in the Olympiastadion was back with the goal, but Union couldn’t make anything of the emotion in the aftermath. The Eisern hit one ball after the other forward, but Prague had hardly any problems with that. In injury time, Rönnow, who had rushed forward, received a corner kick from Kruse, but the keeper headed too inaccurately when free (90.+4). The result remained 1-1, which also meant elimination for Union.
Union will now host bottom side Fürth in the league on Sunday (15.30). Prague also host Bohemians for a city derby on Sunday (6pm).
