The 2.Bundesliga season started over the weekend. The final scores were the following:
Hamburg 0-3 Holstein Kiel
Bochum 0-2 Köln
Greuther Fürth 3-1 Sandhausen
Jahn Regensburg 2-1 Ingolstadt
Magdeburg 1-2 St Pauli
Heidenheim 1-1 Arminia Bielefeld
Darmstadt 1-0 Paderborn
Union Berlin 1-0 Erzgebirge Aue
Dynamo Dresden 1-0 Duisburg
I had the pleasure of watching 6 of the matches which were all enjoyable in their different ways. Union Berlin vs Aue was my main interest over the weekend and I watched it on Union Berlin's TV channel on their website.
As for the match, it was a typical first game of the season. Neither wanted to lose so both teams played risk free. Union's 4-1-4-1 wasn't working to break down Aue's 5-4-1 but when Aue did attack, they were susceptible to Union's fast counter-attacking. In the second half Hedlund came on for Gogia at right wing and Mees came on Redondo at left wing. The game really changed when Kroos came on for Schmiedebach and the system was tweaked to become a 4-2-3-1 with Kroos alongside Prömel as a central 2 with Hartel moving from his left centre midfield position to the 10 role close to Antonseen. This change altered Union's play as they were able to play through the pitch faster with Kroos and Prömel collecting the ball from the centre backs and then play to Hedlund, Hartel or Mees who could collect the ball in space and run at Aue's defence. The winning goal came in the 86th minute from Felix Kroos from a left of centre free kick which he curled over the wall and smack into the top corner. After that Union saw out the remaining minutes and notched the win.
Next Monday evening Union travel away to Köln in Matchday 2's biggest match. Köln looked good away at Bochum but the defence had the same problem as Hamburg had the night before. If Mere and Czichos had time on the ball, they could give the ball to the defensive midfielder Özcan or to Drexler who would drop deep from his centre midfield role. Where Bochum did well was with the press. They wouldn't always press high up but there were certain triggers that would be flicked causing the high press to start. This was particularly when Köln's defence and goalkeeper were passing the ball close to their goal. Union Berlin should play a similar game. A 4-2-3-1 system which is a 4-4-1-1 out of possession in a lower block when Köln have the ball in midfield and are coming forward. When Köln try to play out from the back starting with their keeper, that should trigger a high press with Hartel moving alongside Antonssen and the two wingers pushing up to the full backs to stop the keeper playing over Hartel and Antonssen to the full back. Pressure them into making mistakes or force them to go long so Friedrich and Parensen (Hübner if he's fit) can win the aerial duels.
A draw will be a good result for Union.
Hamburg 0-3 Holstein Kiel
Bochum 0-2 Köln
Greuther Fürth 3-1 Sandhausen
Jahn Regensburg 2-1 Ingolstadt
Magdeburg 1-2 St Pauli
Heidenheim 1-1 Arminia Bielefeld
Darmstadt 1-0 Paderborn
Union Berlin 1-0 Erzgebirge Aue
Dynamo Dresden 1-0 Duisburg
I had the pleasure of watching 6 of the matches which were all enjoyable in their different ways. Union Berlin vs Aue was my main interest over the weekend and I watched it on Union Berlin's TV channel on their website.
As for the match, it was a typical first game of the season. Neither wanted to lose so both teams played risk free. Union's 4-1-4-1 wasn't working to break down Aue's 5-4-1 but when Aue did attack, they were susceptible to Union's fast counter-attacking. In the second half Hedlund came on for Gogia at right wing and Mees came on Redondo at left wing. The game really changed when Kroos came on for Schmiedebach and the system was tweaked to become a 4-2-3-1 with Kroos alongside Prömel as a central 2 with Hartel moving from his left centre midfield position to the 10 role close to Antonseen. This change altered Union's play as they were able to play through the pitch faster with Kroos and Prömel collecting the ball from the centre backs and then play to Hedlund, Hartel or Mees who could collect the ball in space and run at Aue's defence. The winning goal came in the 86th minute from Felix Kroos from a left of centre free kick which he curled over the wall and smack into the top corner. After that Union saw out the remaining minutes and notched the win.
Next Monday evening Union travel away to Köln in Matchday 2's biggest match. Köln looked good away at Bochum but the defence had the same problem as Hamburg had the night before. If Mere and Czichos had time on the ball, they could give the ball to the defensive midfielder Özcan or to Drexler who would drop deep from his centre midfield role. Where Bochum did well was with the press. They wouldn't always press high up but there were certain triggers that would be flicked causing the high press to start. This was particularly when Köln's defence and goalkeeper were passing the ball close to their goal. Union Berlin should play a similar game. A 4-2-3-1 system which is a 4-4-1-1 out of possession in a lower block when Köln have the ball in midfield and are coming forward. When Köln try to play out from the back starting with their keeper, that should trigger a high press with Hartel moving alongside Antonssen and the two wingers pushing up to the full backs to stop the keeper playing over Hartel and Antonssen to the full back. Pressure them into making mistakes or force them to go long so Friedrich and Parensen (Hübner if he's fit) can win the aerial duels.
A draw will be a good result for Union.