U23 win Regionalliga derby against Schalke | OneFootball

Starting point

The U23 went into the little derby carrying the momentum from their 2-0 win in Hilden three days earlier. Even so, before matchday the Black & Yellows were behind 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 games 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 suspension after a yellow-red card. Tim Degener, Luke Fahrenhorst and Nanitonda Quiala dropped to the bench. Coming into the side were Ayman Azhil, Jan Riedl, Fadi Zarqelain and Takata Yamamoto.

Match action

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

Not long after that, Dortmund had reason to celebrate again: after winning the ball in midfield, Azhil transitioned quickly and found Mutove, who finished low into the bottom-left corner from just under 16 metres to make it 2-0 (21').

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

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

Instead of the decision, things became tense again in the closing stages. Goalkeeper Silas Ostrzinski tried to claim a high cross and collided awkwardly with an opponent (72'). Yassin Ben Balla converted the penalty to pull it back to 2-1 (74'). Substitute Luke Fahrenhorst sealed the match in stoppage time with a shot from the edge of the box into the top corner for 3-1 (90+1').

Reaction

Daniel Rios: “We created several chances and gave away very little. Unfortunately, we once again missed the chance to make things completely clear earlier on. Naturally, at 2-1 it gets tight again. But the substitutes in particular brought fresh energy. Over the course of the whole match, 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 2 p.m. 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.