A record crowd of 12,511 descended on Köpenick today as 1. FC Union Berlin beat city rivals Hertha Berlin 5-0 at the Stadion An der Alten Försterei in the largest attendance for a Women’s club game in south-east Berlin.
Story of the match
Sitting comfortably at the top of Regionalliga Nordost, Union welcomed mid-table Hertha to the south-east of the Capital and dominated the first half.
With five minutes played, the hosts took the lead.
Abu Sabbah cut inside from the right, rolling the ball onto her left foot, and sliding the ball into the top corner.
It was 2-0 in the 16th minute.
Heiseler managed to find Abu Sabbah who lifted the ball over the despairing goalkeeper for her second of the afternoon.
Union were dominating.
The third came from a Moraitou free-kick in the 21st minute.
The free-kick floated in at the back-post with a kiss on the way in. The Greek international celebrated with the thousands of Unioners in the stands.
The hosts were enjoying themselves.
Ten minutes later, Union had built on their lead as Katja Orschmann scored from a corner.
It was too easy but the derby atmosphere lifted the spectacle.
On the pitch, there were flashes of magic as Orschmann nearly scored an audacious late in the second half but the effort sailed narrowly wide.
But there was time for one more goal.
Dreher caught Abu Sabbah in the box and Union’s top scorer calmly scored the penalty for her hat-trick in first half added time.
It epitomised the difference between the two sides.
Union Berlin was just too good and the game was all but finished.
The second half was more competitive.
There were further chances for Abu Sabbah, Orschmann, and Blaschke but Hertha improved.
Svenja Poock hit the right post with a firm header from a corner.
However, the hosts still looked the most likely to score.
Union thought they had scored a sixth through another Abu Sabbah header but the forward was offside.
It was the final action of note in another dominant Union Berlin display but the day will be remembered for the attendance.
Both sides took in the applause with laps of honours, thanking the record crowd.
Following the game, Abu Sabbah summed up the feeling in the stadium:
“The atmosphere was incredible and gave us a huge boost. I was delighted to score three goals today. [but] We have to keep looking after ourselves and focus on the next few games.”
The players may look forward, but everyone involved with the two clubs will have a lot to remember from today.
GGFN | Oscar O’Mara
