BERLIN (AP) — Union Berlin’s week went from bad to worse Sunday with a 1-0 loss at home to last-placed Holstein Kiel in the Bundesliga.
Armin Gigović scored before the break for the visitors, finishing off a counterattack started by team captain Timo Becker and involving Japan forward Shuto Machino.
It was promoted Kiel’s first-ever Bundesliga win away from home, and it lifted the team off the bottom, a point above Heidenheim, while dealing Union its third consecutive defeat a week after its 6-0 loss at Borussia Dortmund – the club’s heaviest ever Bundesliga loss.
Union dropped to 14th in the 18-team league, six points above Bochum in the relegation playoff spot, with tough games against Eintracht Frankfurt, Bayern Munich and Freiburg to follow.
The buildup to Sunday’s match was dominated by the German soccer federation’s sports court’s decision on Friday to reject Union’s appeal against an earlier court decision that awarded Bochum a 2-0 win over Union after the Bochum goalkeeper was struck by a firelighter thrown by a Union fan during the team’s match in December.
The goalkeeper, Patrick Drewes, was unable to continue and the teams had agreed to play the remaining three minutes without scoring to leave the score at 1-1.
Union is again appealing against awarding Bochum the win. The case has implications for the Bundesliga’s relegation battle. St. Pauli and Kiel had also appealed against the decision to award Bochum a win.
Freiburg frustrated
Freiburg missed the chance to reclaim fourth place as it was held by Augsburg 0-0 in the late game.
Winter signing Jan-Niklas Beste had the visitors’ best chance but failed to get the better of Augsburg ’keeper Finn Dahmen in a one-on-one.
Augsburg forward Steve Mounié almost won it with one of the last kicks of the game when his shot crashed back off the inside of the left post.
Freiburg dropped to fifth, one point behind Mainz, which holds the last place for Champions League qualification.
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Ciarán Fahey, The Associated Press
