Fighting spirit rewarded

VfB Stuttgart fought back from 1-0 down to draw 1-1 in their away match against Union Berlin, collecting an important point in their relegation battle.

It was a hard-fought contest from the off at the Stadion An der Alten Försterei, with the hosts gradually gaining the upper hand as the first half wore on. Pellegrino Matarazzo’s side stood firm at the back, though, allowing their opponents few opportunities. Shortly before half-time (41’), the ball hit the hand of Konstantinos Mavropanos in the penalty area and Taiwo Awoniyi converted the spot-kick to give Union a 1-0 lead at the break.

Kalajdzic with late equaliser

In the second half, it took VfB some time before they were able to create the first real goalscoring chance against a solid Union rearguard. Omar Marmoush volleyed narrowly over the target after a corner in the 73^rdminute, before Sasa Kalajdzic missed another opportunity five minutes before time. Stuttgart never give up, though, and their determination paid off in the 90^th minute, when Kalajdzic poked in Borna Sosa’s cross for the much-celebrated equaliser. The point takes VfB up to 16th in the table above Hertha BSC, who play later on Saturday.

The goals

41^st minute: Mavropanos blocks the ball with his hand inside the area. Awoniyi confidently converts the resulting penalty to put Union Berlin 1-0 up.

90^th minute: Sosa’s brilliant cross is met first-time by Kalajdzic, who squeezes the ball over the line to make it 1-1.

Reaction: 

Pellegrino Matarazzo: “It’s a deserved point for us. We knew it would be tough against Union. We could have equalised even sooner but we scored with our third chance, so we deserved to get the draw. We’ve now picked up points in two consecutive matches. That shows we’re on the right track.”

Sasa Kalajdzic: “We’re very happy to take this point back home. We couldn’t find our rhythm in the first half, it was really difficult. Union were very robust and closed down all the spaces. It’s maybe a bit fortunate that we scored so late on, but it’s also deserved. The goal shows our mentality and that we know we can always turn a game around.”