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Taiwo Awoniyi used Jonas Hector's gift to make it 1-0
Photo: Boris Streubel / Getty Images
1. FC Union Berlin has overcome its low for the time being and has already got in the mood for the explosive capital city derby.
The one-time crowd hero Steffen Baumgart suffered at the start of the 28th match day of the Bundesliga: The ex-Union player lost 0-1 (0-0) as a coach with 1. FC Köln on Friday evening and thus also a dampener in the fight for the international business.
Thanks to the victory, the Berliners overtook Cologne with 41 points in the table.
The only goal came after a bad pass from ex-national player Jonas Hector.
In front of 22,012 spectators in the stadium at the Alte Försterei, which was full for the first time since November, Taiwo Awoniyi took the opportunity to score his twelfth goal of the season in the 49th minute.
Evening game, floodlights, and finally a full house again.
Since the derby win against Hertha on November 20th, the Irons have had to wait for their special stadium experience due to the corona restrictions that have been lifted in Berlin since Friday.
It was correspondingly atmospheric, including pyrotechnics and frenetic support.
And the people from Köpenick almost gave their fans a dream start.
But after a fine pass from Sheraldo Becker after 58 seconds, Awoniyi missed the ball, otherwise the Nigerian would have been through freely.
The game didn't give up many chances.
Becker from a tight angle (25') and Rani Khedira with a long-range shot next to the goal (35') were Berlin's best actions in the first half.
Baumgart in a T-shirt again
Fight and passion shaped the game, which FC coach Baumgart - in a T-shirt at temperatures just above freezing - exemplified again on the sidelines.
It was a special game for the popular ex-Unioner, after all his family still lives in Köpenick.
His Cologne team, however, lacked the penetrating power.
The short-term absence of the sick striker Anthony Modeste made itself felt, FC acted much too harmless.
Jonas Hector's best chance also came about by chance (39').
And it was Hector who put his team behind.
After a nasty back pass to Awoniyi's feet, the striker gratefully accepted the gift and scored the opener.
With his twelfth goal of the season, he equaled the Bundesliga club record set by current Cologne player Sebastian Andersson from the 2019/20 season.
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