Mirko Boland's strikes in either half were enough to secure Eintracht Braunschweig all three points.
Braunschweig had several key players missing for the game. Saulo Decarli (suspended), Adam Matuschyk, Nik Omladic (both benched), Marcel Correia and Emil Berggreen (both injured) missed out on a starting spot, meaning Gerrit Holtmann, Phil Ofosu-Ayeh, Patrick Schönfeld, Salim Khelifi and Jan Hochscheidt all began the game.
For Union, Sascha Lewandowski made just two changes, as Stephan Fürstner and Toni Leistner made way for Eroll Zejnullahu and Michael Parensen.
Even first half
It was Parensen who was forced into a strong defensive action in the early stages of the game. Jan Hochscheidt wriggled free in the area before drilling a cross along the six yard line. Just before it was turned in by Hendrik Zuck, the returning left-back managed to flick it clear of danger.
The Lions were on top and the pressure paid off early on. Zuck, who was a real thorn in the oppositions' side, curled in a free-kick towards Mirko Boland. He rose above Christopher Trimmel and headed into the back of the net, giving his side a deserved lead.
All that hard work was quickly rendered useless, as Union earned themselves a spot-kick. Braunschweig failed to clear and Sören Brandy ran through on goal, only to be hauled down by Rafal Gikiewicz. There were no doubts in Sascha Stegemann's mind, as he pointed straight to the spot and handed Benjamin Kessel the chance to level. He confidently dispatched the penalty and refused to celebrate, instead holding his hands up in apology.
Neither side could force any stellar opportunities in the remainder of the half, which was understandable given the open nature of the game.
Union made to pay by Boland
It was Union who had the first opportunity of the second half, as someone excellent build-up play eventually found Bobby Wood. He rolled his defender brilliantly before firing over from 16 yards, a miss that struck his team-mates with disbelief.
Brandy was soon guilty of passing up a guilt-edge chance himself, as the visitors turned the screw. The attacker managed to go unmarked in the six-yard area and headed towards goal, only to put it just wide of the right-hand post. They would have been well-worth the lead, but Lewandowski's men jsut couldn't capitalise.
It was clear that a special strike was needed to split the sides, and that is exactly what Boland provided. A headed clearance of about 25 yards looked to have rid Union of any immediate danger, but the busy midfielder had other ideas and struck a powerful, dripping half-volley in off the bar. The Eintracht-Stadion burst into noise, having just witnessed a quite incredible winning goal.