Benedict Hollerbach recalls last season’s collapse after big Union Berlin win: “I know us.” | OneFootball

By far Union Berlin’s most impressive Bundesliga win since new head coach Steffen Baumgart took the reins last month didn’t leave striker Benedict Hollerbach in the mood to take a victory lap. Literally everything broke Union’s way in Saturday’s 4-0 win over Hoffenheim. Union’s massive win in an early relegation six-pointer pushes the capital city side up to 13th place in the table; a full ten points clear of Heidenheim in the promotion-relegation playoff place.

Hollerbach – one of the few bright sports in the FCU attack – collected the first brace of his Bundesliga career. Summer acquisition Andrej Ilic – by all accounts a total transfer flop – scored his first Bundesliga goal in just his third league appearance as a sub. New January signing Marin Ljubicic immediately got in on the act in his first appearance off the bench, scoring two minutes into his Bundesliga debut. Ljubicic also collected an assist on Hollerbach’s second goal.

Despite all of this, Hollerbach was in no mood to declare the relegation battle over. The 23-year-old had good reason not to. Last season around this very same time, the Köpenickers also notched an important victory during their away trip to Sinsheim. A matchday 21 1-0 win over Hoffenheim placed Union in the very same position: In 13th place in the table on 24 points.

Hollerbach recalled the manner in which only one win from the next 10 league fixtures led to the sacking of head coach Nenad Bjelica on the antepenultimate matchday of the season. Only a 2-1 win over Freiburg on the final matchday enabled Union to barely escape the promotion-relegation playoff on goal differential.

“No, absolutely not,” Hollerbach said when asked by Sky Germany if the win meant Union were now above the relegation battle. “If I said that, the coach would have my head on a spike. We’re absolutely still in the relegation race.

“Football can be fun when it works like this,” Hollerbach continued. “This should motivate us and give us self-confidence. I [nevertheless] know us. If we give five to ten percent less, we’ll start losing games. That must not happen.“

GGFN | Peter Weis