18-07-07: Union Berlin (a) 0-2 (HT 0-1) Crowd (16,000)

With several players now officially having left Elland Road, including David Healy and Robbie Blake, United were still without a recognised keeper and they took Scott Loach on trial from Watford on their German tour with Nick Hamann, a Dresden-born former Chelsea Academy player as the alternate choice. For the first game against Union Berlin United seemed to have stuck with the tried and true of the remnants of the 2006-07 squad together with youngsters such as Ben Parker, Tom Elliott and Fabian Delph and triallists like the keepers, David Prutton, Curtis Weston and Leon Constantine. The starting eleven was: Loach; Richardson, Marques, Heath, Parker; Douglas Prutton, Thompson, Lewis; Kandol, Beckford. In front of a crowd of 16,000, the game started at a quick pace and United won their first corner after eight minutes, but Scott Loach was soon in action tipping the ball round the post and then making a good low block. United replied strongly with Jermaine Beckford creating a chance for himself but then he shot wide. Both teams showed good form and created good openings from midfield with David Prutton feeding Tresor Kandol but Christian Stuff averted the danger. On the half hour Alan Thompson went close when he forced keeper Jan Glinker to parry and Eddie Lewis just couldn’t quite finish the rebound. At the other end Scott Loach made a fine save to deny Tom Martins after Berlin had opened up the United defence and moments later he again pulled of another great save from Nico Patschinski who got in an angled shot from the left. However, Loach was beaten five minutes before the break when Marco Gebhart lifted the ball over the advancing keeper. Nick Hamann replaced Scott Loach at half-time and United started the second half brightly as Jermaine Beckford and Tresor Kandol linked up well before Kandol sent an overhead kick narrowly over the bar and United began to look more assured. There was a triple substitution just before the hour mark with Curtis Weston, Sebastien Carole and Leon Constantine coming on for Alan Thompson, Eddie Lewis and Tresor Kandol. Leon Constantine immediately struck up an understanding with Jermaine Beckford as the substitute made his mark with a shot that was blocked by a Berlin defender. Tom Elliott replaced Jermaine Beckford after seventy-one minutes and he had not been on the field for five minutes when he found his name in the referee’s notebook following a clash with Alexej Spasskov, who had made an aggressive challenge on him. United pressed for an equaliser without success and it was Berlin who rallied in the closing stages and went 2-0 up six minutes from time when Nico Patchinski rounded off a good move by sweeping the ball into the United net beyond the reach of Nick Hamann. But United were not giving up the ghost and Sebastien Carole almost pulled one back in the final minute with a superb strike from distance, as Fabian Delph remained unused on the bench. The Union Berlin substitutes were goalkeeper Eric Niendorf, Steven Ruprecht, Christian Streit, Tobias Scharlau, Sebastian Bonig, Christoph Menz, Marcus Zschiesche, Nenad Vuckovic and Adrian Antunovic. The Referee was Daniel Siebert (Berlin).

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Teamsheet: Courtesy Mark Ledgard