Substitute Burcu hands Union first win of the season against Elversberg
Livan Burcu came off the bench to score the only goal in the 81st minute. It was coach Mauro Lustrinelli's first Bundesliga win with the Berlin club.
Symbolic image · Photo: GodeNehler / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped and resized)
Union Berlin won for the first time this season in their fifth Bundesliga game, beating Elversberg 1-0 before a sellout crowd of 22,012 at the Stadion An der Alten Försterei. Substitute Livan Burcu struck from about 18 meters in the 81st minute, and his shot deflected off Felix Keidel past goalkeeper Nicolas Kristof.
Burcu told Sky that sporting director Horst Heldt had predicted the goal: "And today, when I came on, he told me that I would score today." Club president Dirk Zingler had told Sky before the game that there was no debate about sporting director Heldt: "Nobody here talks about personnel, and certainly not after the fourth round."
Union are 16th with four points, while Elversberg have seven. Union host Borussia Dortmund next.