St. Pauli fails at Union: Pokalschreck slips

Dhe 1. FC Union Berlin did not let themselves be deterred by the FC St. Pauli cup fright and is in the semi-finals of the cup competition for the first time in 21 years. The “Iron” prevailed on Tuesday evening in the quarter-finals of the DFB Cup thanks to the goals of Sheraldo Becker (45th minute) and Andreas Voglsammer (75th), which were favored by two slips in the guest defense, after initial difficulties with 2: 1 (1st minute). :1) through.

The Kiezclub from Hamburg took the lead with a free kick from Daniel Kofi Kyereh (21st) in front of 10,000 spectators in the “An der Alten Försterei” stadium and after the coup against defending champion Borussia Dortmund seemed already on the way to the next cup miracle against a football Bundesliga club.

“I’m very happy that we’re in the last four. In terms of sport, it’s good to have such an experience in these times. That’s also good for people,” said Berlin’s managing director Oliver Ruhnert to the TV channel Sky and Trimmel added: “We were aggressive and courageous on the ball. In the end, it’s a deserved win.” And match winner Voglsammer said: “It’s important that I help the team with goals. In the end, what counts is getting through.”

St. Pauli’s Leart Paqarada, on the other hand, was disappointed: “We’ll be severely punished by two individual mistakes.” The Hamburg second division representative can now concentrate on the fight for promotion. The Unioners are looking forward to the semi-final draw on Sunday by Olympic bobsleigh champion Laura Nolte and national coach Hansi Flick. The hope of a final practically on their own doorstep in the Olympic Stadium on May 21 lives on in Berlin-Köpenick. In 2001, Union only lost in the final against Schalke 04 (0:2).

A typical cup atmosphere prevailed in front of the 10,000 allowed fans, although the war in Ukraine cannot be ignored, as St. Pauli’s coach Timo Schultz noted on the Sky TV station. The victims were commemorated with a minute’s silence before kick-off, and all players wore armbands with the peace sign.

Then the ball rolled. First of all in the direction of the Hamburg goal, which this time was guarded by Dennis Smarsch, a native of Berlin, instead of regular Nikola Vasilj. And also at Union there was a goalkeeper rotation. The Dane Frederik Rönnow represented Andreas Luthe. The changes in the first half were not crowned with success on either side.

At first, Rönnow looked bad for the visitors’ opening goal when he let himself be surprised by Kyereh’s free-kick in the goalkeeper’s corner. And on the other side, the former Hertha keeper Smarsch slipped while running out and was partly to blame for the equalizer shortly before the break. Although he was able to parry Awoniyi’s shot, Becker put the follow-up shot into the goal.

So Union was well served with the break. Although the Berliners had the greater share of the game, the team coached by Urs Fischer was not compelling enough in front of the goal. The ambitious guest did it very cleverly. Despite the personal problems on the defensive – 19-year-old Marcel Beifus even made his starting eleven debut in the back three – St. Pauli was quite secure. Awoniyi caused trouble again and again, but the Nigerians couldn’t create any real chances. Niko Gießelmann still had the best chance after a cross from Christopher Trimmel (24th).

The Berliners came out of the break with momentum, created more pressure and caused mistakes on the part of the second division team. But there were no clear chances. A goalscorer like Max Kruse, who moved to Wolfsburg, would have been good for the hosts. Instead, Fischer brought the robust Voglsammer into play. A smart move. First, the former Bielefeld player almost got a penalty (69th), then he coldly exploited Medic’s slip. In addition, he hit the post in stoppage time (90+1).