Fresh from their 5-1 hammering of Galatasaray in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday night, Die Adler were expected to have too much for a Union side who had kept just one clean sheet so far this season.
However, after Nathaniel Brown’s swerving shot from inside the area was saved by visiting goalkeeper Frederik Ronnow, the away side hit the front in style.
A loose ball landed at the feet of Ilyas Ansah, who swivelled before unleashing a powerful right-footed effort which flew into the bottom left-hand corner past the despairing Kaua Santos.
The home side were well on top in terms of possession and territory, but they received another sucker punch shortly after the half-hour mark when Andrej Ilic’s through ball played Burke in, and the Scotsman slotted past Santos to double the visitors’ lead.
The hosts were desperate for a response, and they eventually found one in slightly fortuitous style when Brown’s effort from 25 yards took a slight touch off teammate Can Uzun on its path to the goal, and that was enough to divert it past Ronnow and into the net.
The home fans would have expected the goal just before half-time to give their team a real boost heading into the second period, yet it was the visitors who found the net eight minutes after the restart when Ilic’s chipped ball across the area was headed home from close range by Burke for his second goal of the afternoon.
Then, just three minutes later, the same two players combined to devastating effect for the third time as Ilic’s ball over the top gave Burke the chance to run into the area unopposed, and he dinked the ball over Santos to complete his hat-trick and leave the home supporters stunned into silence.
Only Bayern Munich had scored more than Frankfurt’s eight league goals ahead of this round, and two goals inside the final 10 minutes saw the home side very nearly complete a remarkable comeback.
First, Uzun fired home from inside the area, before Jonathan Burkardt scored from the penalty spot.
However, their quest fell just short as Union Berlin did enough to negotiate the 10 added minutes and earn a notable three points that lift them up to 10th in the table, with the bruised Adler four places higher in sixth with a superior goal difference.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Oliver Burke (Union Berlin)