U19 begin preparations with 1-1 draw against Alkmaar | OneFootball

Personnel

Compared with the 1-1 draw in the youth league at Fortuna Düsseldorf three weeks ago, Felix Hirschnagl made changes to his team in several positions due to players being away with various youth national teams and because of injuries. The two 16-year-olds Tim-Bakary Bojang, who had recently drawn attention with outstanding performances for the U17s, and forward Janis Tunkel made their debuts in the starting line-up. Also included in the squad were U17 players Ben Hermann, Adriano Bejta, Nikola Jekic and David Okojie.

Match proceedings

With AZ Alkmaar, BVB had deliberately chosen a strong opponent with an eye on the upcoming UEFA Youth League away match at Bodø/Glimt. Earlier this year, the Dutch side had beaten the Black and Yellows 4-0 in the Youth League round of 32 and currently sit fourth in the U19 Division 1 table.

The visitors controlled the first half without creating any clear-cut chances. The newly assembled Borussia side initially still looked to find the right rhythm in their combinations. That improved significantly after the break: BVB in particular found good solutions in possession and increasingly created dangerous situations. Luke Fahrenhorst gave the Black and Yellows a 1-0 lead in the 65th minute. Alkmaar equalised late on from a converted penalty. In the end, the match finished 1-1, a fair result after an entertaining game.

“The first half wasn’t good. We weren’t compact enough and gave the ball away too quickly after winning it. But after that our performance improved significantly. Now it’s about getting the team into top shape ahead of a demanding week with matches against Bodø/Glimt, Oberhausen and Sabah.”

Outlook

Felix Hirschnagl is preparing his squad, which will be largely complete again by the middle of the week, for the next major task: on Wednesday, 14 October, BVB face Bodø/Glimt away in the second matchday of the UEFA Youth League at 11:00. The second half of the season in preliminary group H of the DFB youth league begins for BVB on Saturday, 17 October, against Rot-Weiß Oberhausen (kick-off 13:00).

U19: Wehrbein – König, Ritter, Kaymak, Adje – Fahrenhorst, Bojang, Faust – Tunkel, Najdi, Hoy.

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