Union Berlin beats Hertha in derby, stays 2nd in Bundesliga

BERLIN (AP) — Union Berlin fans brought fire to the city derby as their team consolidated second place in the Bundesliga by beating Hertha Berlin 2-0 on Saturday.

Goals either side of halftime from Danilho Doekhi and Paul Seguin earned Union its fourth straight league win over its old rival and left Hertha mired at second-from-last after its third consecutive loss to start the year. Union has won their last five derbies including last season’s German Cup meeting.

The second half commenced with a spectacular pyrotechnics display from Union fans, who ignored the stadium announcer’s pleas for them to stop. Many of the supporters seemed to be delayed getting to the game – particularly those carrying flags – but they made up for their lateness after the break.

State police said on Twitter that a group of around 300 people tried attacking visiting fans on their way to the game at Ostkreuz train station – far from the stadium. The police said they and local officers managed to stop the attack and they confiscated pyrotechnics, face-coverings and gum shields.

There were noticeably more police around the stadium than usual for Hertha’s home game, and both sets of fans were corralled through separate entrances in a bid to avoid flashpoints. Special forces also had a helicopter in operation.

Union’s fans, conspicuous in their club’s red-and-white colors, occupied Olympiastadion’s western end, while Hertha’s blue-and-white boasted a majority in the rest of the stadium.

The game itself settled into a tough-tackling midfield battle.

Union started to threaten only toward the end of the first half. It was enough to seize the lead in the 44th minute when Doekhi headed in a free kick from captain Christopher Trimmel. It was the Dutch defender’s third goal in three games for Union, all set up in similar fashion by Trimmel.

Seguin scored in the 67th after the smoke cleared from the fans’ fireworks show, tapping into an empty net after Sheraldo Becker crossed to finish off a counterattack.

Hertha fans reacted by holding up their

Union keeper Frederik Rönnow produced an outstanding save to deny Lucas Tousart a response, then another to stop a deflected effort from Marco Richter.

FREIBURG OFF THE MARK

Freiburg moved to fourth with a 3-1 win at home over Augsburg for its first win of the year.

Werder Bremen defeated Wolfsburg 2-1 to bounce back from two demoralizing defeats, and American defender John Brooks made his Hoffenheim debut but couldn’t prevent his new team losing at home to Borussia Mönchengladbach 4-1.

Also, Mainz enjoyed a 5-2 win at home over Bochum.

League leader Bayern Munich hosted Eintracht Frankfurt in the late game.

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