May 15, (THEWILL) – Union Berlin edged Bochum in a five-goal thriller to secure a top-five finish and a place in the UEFA Europa League next season thanks to a late winner from Nigerian forward Taiwo Awoniyi.
Union began the day in sixth place, but knew that if results on the final day went their way, they would qualify for the UEFA Europa League group stage rather than the UEFA Conference League.
Sheraldo Becker sprinted in behind the Bochum defence within two minutes, but Michael Esser was quick off his line to make a well-timed intervention. Three minutes later, Genki Haraguchi sprinted down the right flank and his quick cross found the unmarked Grischa Prömel.
The midfielder, who will rejoin Hoffenheim next season, made an excellent reaction to direct a header into the far corner for the opener as the fans began to feel optimistic.
The home side continued to dominate and Awoniyi and Haraguchi both had half-chances before Sven Michel, who came on for the injured Becker, had a shot blocked by Robert Tesche.
After a VAR review, Union was granted a penalty, and Awoniyi’s spot-kick was powerful enough to beat Esser. Union seemed destined to climb the table again at halftime, amid a celebration atmosphere in the capital.
Bochum, who were outmanned and outplayed, looked absolutely out of their depth. However, they showed great grit, and Simon Zoller found the net on 55 minutes with a well-placed header after being picked out by Danilo Soares.
Andreas Voglsammer set up Awoniyi, who could have made it 3-1 midway through the second half, but Esser did well to deny him from close range. But, Union rallied quickly and Andras Schäfer, another player off the bench, drew another good save from the Bochum goalkeeper.
All the good work of the home side was tested when Eduard Löwen curled home following superb work from Takuma Asano to make Union pay for not putting the game to bed with their numerous chances.
Urs Fischer brought on Levin Öztunali and Kevin Behrens right away in an attempt to save their playoff hopes, with the former forcing Esser into yet another fine stop soon after.
But, like he has done so often this season, Awoniyi was there to steal the show and get them a result. He pounced on a loose ball with three minutes to go, casually worked his way into the area, and tapped home left-footed to send the Union fans wild.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
