Match Report: Augsburg (H)

Pre-match

Some days just taste sweet, and this was one of them.

Union went into a home game of absolutely no consequence, having secured survival via a thumping win against Mainz last weekend.

Our visitors Augsburg were theoretically in the mix for Europe, but as last year's final game proved, they don't much like playing us on the last day of the season.

We met early as a group and strolled into the stadium bright and early, the atmosphere light and airy all around with the promise of summer on the breeze.

One of our number managed to smear another with a really quite startling amount of mustard via a passing sausage, which is honestly hilarious when you're not the one covered in mustard.

Would we cut the mustard on the pitch as well? Only time would tell.

The pre-match jollities were livened up with some goodbyes. Kral, Leite and Doekhi from the playing side, and an especially huge reception for Micha Gspurning.

Our legendary keeper/coach went off to salute the Waldseite before they'd managed to take a photo, Christian Arbeit begging him to come back over the mic.

Eta and her team also got a nice send off as she takes up the women's coaching role.

The referee Ittrich got a warm reception on his last game.

On the pitch, the team was similar to last week's. Four at the back and Burcu starting.

Augsburg were still in with a shot at Europe, so we expected a tough game, but I was hopeful of seeing a win here for possibly the first time this season.

First Half

You have to give huge credit to Marie-Louise Eta, because since the second half of the Köln game, this team has been totally transformed.

The formation change is one thing, but the players have also remembered that we can play a bit of football too.

Today was the best I've seen Union play, possibly ever.

Augsburg never had the faintest of sniffs. We were all over them from the start, pressing aggressively but sensibly, winning the ball regularly, and then putting together some extremely slick passing moves.

Having effectively a front 4 of Burcu, Ansah, Burke and Ilic caused nightmares for Augsburg, especially as Rothe was absolutely immense down the left, often a 5th attacker.

The Augsburg right back Wolf will have nightmares about Rothe and Burcu, because both of them ran him ragged all day.

Everybody had a good game, and although he had little to do with his hands, the backup backup goalkeeper Klaus set up two of our goals with quick thinking and pinpoint distribution.

The first was within the opening 10 minutes. A harmless Augsburg cross was straight into Klaus's hands, but he wasted no time in looking for Burke, already haring forward.

Arguably nobody has benefited more from the manager change than Burke.

Playing more centrally again, he chased Klaus's perfectly pinged ball over the top. The Augsburg keeper panicked, correctly, came for the ball and ran into his own team mate.

Burke also went down in the melee, but somehow Schäfer arrived from nowhere to pop the ball to Ilic, totally unmarked in front of an open goal.

We all remember Hamburg, but Ilic had no trouble this time in rolling the ball in to give Union a deserved lead.

We tumbled over each other in giddy celebration, my sunglasses flying three rows forward but surviving unscathed once again.

More lives than a cat, those glasses.

Burke raised his fist to the Waldseite, taking the acclaim for making the goal.

It was almost two soon after, Augsburg all over the shop.

Rothe and Burcu combined again, leaving the forward to jink into the box and line up a shot. It was 100% going in, but a desperate lunging slide from the defender blocked it away.

Rothe was playing with a smile and a swagger, geeing up the crowd when winning a throw miles from his own position.

Burke had his customary silly moment, kicking the ball away to earn a booking, but other than that it was going dreamily for Union.

We played some truly sublime stuff today. One touch passes in tight areas, neat little triangles. Ansah managed to beat about three men in the middle by juggling it over them.

Everyone was confident and precise on the ball, no aimless hoofs today.

Augsburg were chasing shadows, and when they did have the ball, were hunted relentlessly.

Illc has looked isolated at times this season, and has struggled as a target man. But I think the reality is that we've had so little attacking threat, opponents have been able to double up on him and take him out of the game.

Today he won everything because the Augsburg defence had their hands full elsewhere, and he claimed a deserved second just before the break.

Augsburg had been tentatively showing signs of life, but they were quickly snuffed out by another fine goal.

Again Klaus and Burke combined on the break, the keeper dropping the ball into Burke's head in the centre circle.

I thought it was a header to nobody, but suddenly Ilic burst onto it from the left. It was an awkward bounce, but his first touch was perfect and his second truly spectacular, as he slammed a brutal half volley almost straight through the keeper from outside the box.

It looked saveable but the keeper can't have been expecting him to hit it so early and with such ferocity.

A fabulous hit, and a 2-0 lead going into half time.

Second Half

We carried right on with it in the second half, this time having the pleasure of witnessing Union pepper the Augsburg goal right in front of us.

Wolf on the Augsburg right had more or less given up at this point, and Rothe was on fire, creating chance after chance on the overlap.

Yet another foray down the left eventually found its way out to Trimmel on the right; to this point he'd had the easiest of games.

Our captain unleashed a low drive from 25 yards which had Dahmen at full stretch to make the save.

The corner was worked short and then quickly to Schäfer on the far corner of the penalty area.

I've borne witness to many a Schäfer plane-botherer this season, but today you knew as soon as he'd hit it.

Like the Burcu goal against Köln, some strikes are just born to find the net, and this one from Schäfer was simply perfect, a missile arcing away from the keeper and right into the top corner.

The celebrations were chaotic both on and off the pitch. Again, a richly deserved goal for Schafer's performance today - his blend of silk and steel at its finest.

The Alte Försterei was in party mode, and the Augsburg fans in the sold out Gästeblock remained loud and colourful despite their team.

One of the Eisern Union chants for swapped to "drei null, vier null, fünf null Union", and the team seemed pretty up for making that happen.

Rothe deserved a goal and thought he had one, getting onto a deep cross and rolling it past Dahmen, but it was chalked off for a push.

The subs decided to get in on the action as we ticked into the last 10 minutes.

Augsburg got caught on the break again, Juranovic motoring forward and setting Skarke free. He took a quite gorgeous touch before squaring to our baby striker Bogdanov.

He looked ready to strike, but his effort was blocked. It only rolled as far as Jeong, who calmly sat the goalie down before blasting past the man on the line.

When Jeong scores we drink Mexikaners, I don't make the rules

4-0 and still no let up, a remarkable outing.

Going into 3 added minutes, Skarke was doing his best to get Bogdanov a goal and he almost got it with the last kick, but his first touch kept the ball in his feet and he couldn't bend the shit around Dahmen in a wide open one on one.

He'll score a hatful next year no doubt.

The referee blew to call time on a perfect day to end a turbulent season.

The team did a jubilant lap of the ground, kids and all on the pitch, before Gspurning got on the mic to bid farewell, and lead the stadium in a belting chorus of 'Man hat mir gesagt'.

Eta hung back and soaked it in while the team danced with the Waldseite, but she should also take immense acclaim for her work in the last few games. The Frauen team is going to absolutely cook next year under her.

The sun was out, we were hoarse from singing, covered in beer, some of us daubed in condiments, deliriously happy.

It hardly gets better than this.

What a game. What a day. What a club! How truly lucky we are to experience this.

No better way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

Eisern!

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By @MarkJB on Bluesky