Against a Regional League Team! Pre-Season Friendly Loss for Querfeld and Trimmel

Union Berlin is still struggling to get into gear during pre-season.

The German Bundesliga club had to settle for a 0-2 defeat in the friendly against Regional League team FC Carl Zeiss Jena, thus remaining winless in its second preparatory match against a fourth-tier side. The "Iron Ones" had already managed no more than a 1-1 draw against Chemnitzer FC on Thursday.

Austrian Duo Provides Performance Boost

New coach Mauro Lustrinelli's team falls behind early. Elias Loder scores for Jena in the 11th minute to give them the lead.

At halftime, Lustrinelli brought on, among others, the two Austrian internationals Leopold Querfeld and Christopher Trimmel. While the duo provided a performance boost for the Berliners, the scoreline remained unchanged.

Instead of an equalizer, the decision fell in the closing stages in favour of the Regional League team. Kevin Lankford made it 2-0 in the 83rd minute, thus sealing another disappointment for Union in the current pre-season.

Competitive Season Doesn't Start Until Late August

However, the defeat should not be overemphasized. While Jena – just like Chemnitzer FC – will kick off its Regional League season in two weeks, Union Berlin will not play its first competitive match of the 2026/27 season until August 23rd in the DFB-Pokal against Eintracht Braunschweig.