U23 Celebrates Fourth Straight Win

Compared to the last-minute victory against SG Wattenscheid 09, head coach Daniel Rios made four changes to his starting lineup. Kevin Mutove, Luca Reggiani, Enzo Duarte dos Santos, and Daniel Sumbu replaced Nanitonda Quiala, Fadi Zarqelain, Samuele Inacio, and the injured Mussa Kaba in the starting lineup.

Match Summary

Dortmund took the initiative early on. In the 13th minute, a shot by Mutove was blocked, but six minutes later, BVB took the lead. Ayman Azhil sent Arne Wessels down the left flank with a long ball. Wessels’ cross found Dos Santos, who headed the ball into the net unmarked to give his team the lead (19th minute). Shortly thereafter, BVB added to their lead. Once again, Azhil set up the goal with a precise pass to Sumbu. The attacking player flicked the ball on with his head to Mutove, who also finished with a header to make it 2–0 (24th minute).

Then, out of nowhere, SC Wiedenbrück pulled one back. In the 29th minute, Marius Zentler received the ball following a combination play down the right flank and fired it decisively into the near corner to make it 1–2. At the other end, Mutove narrowly missed scoring Dortmund’s third goal after a shot by Finn Fuchs. Instead, Wiedenbrück managed to equalize: After Dortmund lost possession while building up play, the hosts quickly transitioned on the counter. Niklas Tuppeck took advantage of Silas Ostrzinski’s positioning and lifted the ball over the Dortmund goalkeeper in the 36th minute to make it 2–2.

The first notable chance of the second half belonged to Emre Aydinel, whose shot was confidently saved by Ostrzinski. In the 78th minute, substitute Zarqelain cut into the penalty area from the right and was brought down. The referee awarded a penalty kick. Azhil stepped up and confidently converted it into the lower right corner to give his team a 3–2 lead (79th minute). Shortly afterward, Malik Hodroj failed to capitalize on the next good opportunity, as his shot was stopped by Wiedenbrück goalkeeper Lukas Kasparek.

In the closing stages, events unfolded rapidly: Tim Degener was sent on a run with a long ball, prompting Kasparek to rush out of his goal and clear the ball with a header. In doing so, the goalkeeper struck the Dortmund player in the face with his knee and was shown a red card. The Black and Yellows were unable to capitalize on the resulting free kick.

In the sixth minute of stoppage time, BVB finally sealed the victory. Wiedenbrück threw everything forward one last time, but Dortmund countered calmly down the left flank. Wessels tried to play the ball into the middle, but Furkan Yilmaz unfortunately deflected the cross into his own net. This sealed the 4-2 away victory and the team’s fourth straight win.

Looking Ahead

BVB’s U23s face their next challenge in the Regionalliga West as early as this coming Friday (October 23, live on LEAGUES). Rios’s squad will host Bonner SC at 7:30 p.m. at Stadion Rote Erde.