13 Oct, 2024

Autumn in Berlin

Report by Arnfinn Kjos Eduardsen

I arrived in Berlin on the evening flight from Oslo last Wednesday night, and it was a much cooler city than the one I had left 15 days ago. Two things were planned for this trip. First, the "Stammtisch" with the Norwegian seamen's church on Thursday evening, and then the most important event – the women's match in the 2. Bundesliga against Eintracht Frankfurt 2.

 "Stammtisch" entails a “Norwegian” meeting at a dining place in Berlin for a communal meal and lots of social chatter. This time we were at the Norwegian restaurant "Fjord", and there were 10 registered attendees, all Norwegian. Over the evening, I chatted with one of the participants, a relatively young journalist who was in Berlin for a 3-month stay. He told me that he had seen Hertha lose to SV Elversberg and mentioned the relatively poor atmosphere after the match. I shared some (everything would have taken a few days) of my experience with football in Berlin. In addition, I mentioned that I was going to the women's match and that it was easy to get a ticket. He was interested in coming along, and we agreed to meet at Hauptmann about 2 hours before the start of the match.

Sunday morning, I got my match attire ready, and since it was cool for Berlin, I found my winter scarf and an extra red hoodie. The journalist arrived as agreed and bought something to drink. In the half an hour we sat there, I managed to go through some of what we could expect. Then off we went on a familiar route to the stadium. And now it wasn't just cool, but there was also a strong wind and rain. At Alte Forsterei, we positioned ourselves just below the Bamsegjeng's regular spot, with a railing to support us. Around us, it became more and more crowded, with a total of 5,772 spectators, the second-highest number since the season began.

In the first minutes of the match, Eintracht pressed hard, and we spent a lot of time defending ourselves. It lasted 6 minutes, and then it was 0-1. After the first goal, Union was more on the ball and had several good chances to score. The second half was relatively even, but in the 65th minute, Eintracht scored another goal, before we beautified the result in the 71st minute. In the last 10 minutes, we pushed hard for an equalizer, but we did not get one for our efforts. Thus, it wasn't just the year's first loss, but the first defeat since the middle of February 2023!

Nevertheless, the team was vigorously celebrated for at least 30 minutes, in true Union style! Of course, it's sour to lose, especially a home game, but there is also good learning in a loss, especially against such an aggressive opponent. We are still in the promotion spot and can control the league race ourselves. But what was extra special today was being able to show how our fans handle a defeat. It was particularly nice to show it to someone who had just seen Hertha lose to Elversberg.

Eisern!