UNION BERLIN coach Urs Fischer felt his side were worthy winners of their first-ever Bundesliga derby against Hertha on Saturday, despite needing a 90th-minute penalty to take the points.

The match was the first-ever Bundesliga game between any two teams from east and west Berlin, coming a week before the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Sebastian Polter’s late spot-kick ensured it was East Berliners Union who came out on top at the Stadion An der Alten Forsterei.

Fischer, whose team gained promotion to the top-flight for this season, said: “It was a convincing performance. At no point did I have the feeling that we were letting the game slip away.

“At the end we were a bit lucky with the penalty, but we spent over 90 minutes trying to win the game. That’s why it’s a well-deserved win for me on the whole.”

After a goalless first half, play was paused in the early stages of the second period due to fireworks let off by fans.

That contributed to 10 minutes of added time at the end of the game, but Hertha could not find an equaliser as Union moved to within a point of their 11th-placed derby rivals in the Bundesliga standings.