Cup tie under floodlights: BVB women host Recklinghausen | OneFootball

Starting point

Still unbeaten and yet to concede a goal, the BVB women are among the top three in the Regionalliga West after three matchdays. Speaking about the comfortable 3-0 win against DJK Wacker Mecklenbeck at the weekend, head coach Markus Högner said: “I was pleased with the performance, but when well-organized opponents briefly lose their shape, we need to make better use of those moments and play forward with even more courage. But the truth is also that we came up against a very motivated team in excellent form. Mecklenbeck are a side that will cause plenty of problems for other clubs as well.”

Squad

Aside from the long-term absentees Dana Marquardt, Manuela Zinsberger, Yasu Wöhrn, Emilia Pauls and Mia Scholle, all players are available for the first-round match in the Westphalia Cup. Markus Högner is not ruling out changes to the starting lineup, as there were already some last Sunday.

Opponents

After three clear victories, 1. FFC Recklinghausen currently sit top of the Regionalliga West, so the fans at Strobelallee can look forward to a top clash in the cup on Wednesday evening. “The team strengthened exceptionally well over the summer,” said Markus Högner. “Sari Kobayashi alone, who joined 1. FFC from Eintracht Frankfurt’s second team, has already scored five times in this still very young season.” The coach does not see the emphatic wins Schwarzgelb recorded against their neighbors from Recklinghausen last season (6-1 and 6-0) as a benchmark: “We are expecting an established Regionalliga side that has made significant progress not only in attack.”

A special evening

After the frustrating exit against FC Schalke 04 in November 2025, Borussia’s women are now all the more motivated as they begin a new Westphalia Cup campaign. Markus Högner said: “Our goal has to be to win this title, not least so that we can compete in the DFB-Pokal again next season.” The home match under the floodlights will also be a very special one for new signing Alex Popp: she spent her youth career at 1. FFC Recklinghausen before playing one more year there with the women’s team. “We already saw on Sunday that Alex wants to win every single game,” said her coach. “She is and remains a true competitor who wants to win titles – with BVB too.”

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