U23 impress in Siegen too | OneFootball

Background

After a grueling run of midweek fixtures and a well-earned three-day training break, head coach Daniel Rios’ side traveled to Siegen sitting second in the table. Another win against Sportfreunde would allow the U23s to keep the pressure on leaders Rot-Weiß Oberhausen, who were three points ahead.

The team’s development over the past few weeks is encouraging: match by match, they have looked more solid – despite the major squad overhaul in the summer. “Positive results are the best therapy. The team has simply handled every situation very well. Week after week, they show this desire to improve,” Rios said ahead of the match.

Team news

Compared to the 4-2 win over 1. FC Bocholt, coach Rios made three changes to his starting XI. Takato Yamamoto, Fadi Zarqelain and Kevin Mutove came into the lineup for Ayman Azhil, Connor Krempicki and Daniel Sumbu.

Match summary

The match in Siegen got off to a slow start. The first real big chance came after 15 minutes – and it fell to the hosts: after a misplaced pass from Silas Ostrzinski, Matona-Glody Ngyombo got a shot away, but it was deflected behind for a corner. At the other end, Finn Fuchs beat several opponents and drove inside, but his pass into the box was intercepted by the alert Marcel Johnen. Overall, it was an evenly balanced contest, with much of the play taking place between the two penalty areas.

However, the Black & Yellows were clinical in front of goal and took the lead in the 31st minute. Tim Degener beat three opponents and pulled the trigger, but his shot was blocked. Kevin Mutove reacted quickest, pounced on the rebound and only had to tap the ball in.

Shortly before half-time, Rios’ side struck again: Arne Wessels made it 2-0 in style. The wide player had some space on the right, cut inside and curled the ball from the edge of the box onto the inside of the post. From there, it bounced into the net (44’).

After the break, BVB came out better and created further chances. Malik Hodroj slipped Mutove through, but his effort flashed just wide of the left post. Three minutes later, Zarqelain beat several opponents and found Degener, whose shot was superbly saved by Johnen.

Siegen remained dangerous, though, and pulled one back in the 64th minute. Following a corner, Jan-Luca Rumpf got the better of his marker in the box and headed home for 1-2.

The Black & Yellows’ response was not long in coming. Just two minutes later, Dortmund combined brilliantly through the Siegen defense: Zarqelain found Yamamoto, who immediately laid it off to Mutove. The striker kept his cool in front of goal and slotted home for 3-1 (66’) – Mutove’s seventh goal of the season already.

BVB continued to look dangerous afterwards: Yamamoto picked out Sumbu with an excellent through ball, but the Dortmund man was denied by Johnen in a one-on-one (70’). Both teams continued to put a lot into the game in the closing stages. After a long ball from Hodroj, substitute Benedikt Wüstenhagen got a shot away, but once again the Siegen goalkeeper was equal to it. In the end, the Black & Yellows held on for a deserved 3-1 away win.

Reaction

Daniel Rios: “We said before the game that this was a top match. It’s extremely difficult to come here to Siegen and get a result. In the first half, we controlled the game, didn’t create that many chances, but had a lot of control. Defensively too, apart from one moment, we allowed very little and went into half-time 2-0 up thanks to individual quality, like with Arne’s goal. We knew Siegen would come out and try a lot in the second half and that they have the quality to turn the game around. After it became 2-1, it was important that we showed a good response and made it 3-1. Overall, we’re very happy that we came through here in Siegen with a good, controlled first half and a second half in which we defended ourselves well. Of course, we’re delighted with the three points.”

Outlook

Dortmund’s U23s are back in action on Saturday (10 October/live on LEAGUES). In the Regionalliga West, the Black & Yellows host SG Wattenscheid 09 at 2 p.m. at Stadion Rote Erde.

Goals: 0-1 Mutove (31’), 0-2 Wessels (44’), 1-2 Rumpf (64’), 1-3 Mutove (66’)

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