U23 win Regionalliga derby against Schalke

Starting situation

The U23 went into the local derby with the momentum of their 2-0 win in Hilden three days earlier. Nevertheless, before matchday the Black and Yellows were below the Royal Blues in the table. Schalke had taken nine points from their five matches (three wins, two defeats), one more than Dortmund. However, Borussia had only played four matches and were still unbeaten (two wins, two draws).

Line-up

Dortmund coach Daniel Rios made four changes to his starting XI: Arne Wessels was unavailable due to a suspension following a yellow-red card. Tim Degener, Luke Fahrenhorst and Nanitonda Quiala were named on the bench. In their place, Ayman Azhil, Jan Riedl, Fadi Zarqelain and Takata Yamamoto started.

Match action

Dortmund’s U23 took the lead with their first notable chance of the evening: Connor Krempicki played a short corner from the left to Takata Yamamoto, who then laid the ball off to Ayman Azhil. The captain fired a low shot from 18 metres into the bottom-left corner to make it 1-0 (13′). The hosts could have doubled their lead shortly afterwards, but a Schalke defender made a last-ditch clearance just ahead of Kevin Mutove, who was ready to score (17′).

Not long after, Dortmund had reason to celebrate again: after winning the ball in midfield, Azhil quickly switched play and found Mutove, who slotted home low into the bottom-left corner from just under 16 metres for 2-0 (21′).

After that, the visitors grew into the game a little more, but they were unable to break down the BVB defence before half-time.

After the break, BVB pushed for the decisive goal. Mutove hit a fierce shot on goal after being set up by Verlaat, but Schalke goalkeeper Johannes Siebeking tipped the ball behind for a corner (53′). Moments later, Yamamoto struck the post with a shot from the edge of the box (54′). And just a short while after that, Yamamoto curled a free-kick on target, but Siebeking again kept it out with his fingertips (55′).

Instead of the game being settled, things got tense again in the closing stages. Goalkeeper Silas Ostrzinski tried to reach a high cross and collided awkwardly with an opponent (72′). Yassin Ben Balla converted the resulting penalty to pull one back and make it 2-1 (74′). Substitute Luke Fahrenhorst sealed the win in stoppage time with a shot from the edge of the penalty area into the top corner for 3-1 (90+1).

Reaction

Daniel Rios: “We created several chances and allowed very little. Unfortunately, we once again failed to put the game beyond doubt earlier. Naturally, once it became 2-1, it got tight again. But the substitutes in particular brought fresh energy. Over the whole game, it was a deserved win.”

Outlook

The U23 continue on Saturday afternoon with an away match against Borussia Mönchengladbach’s U23. Kick-off is at 14:00 at the Grenzlandstadion.

U23: Ostrzinski – Hodroj, Riedl, Verlaat, Fuchs – Azhil, Yamamoto (87. Fahrenhorst) – Nsumbu (80. Mayivanga Quiala), Krempicki (62. Degener), Zarqelain (62. Wüstenhagen) – Mutove (87. Pejazic)

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.