Borussia Dortmund's U23s made their next big statement on Matchday 23 of the season. The Black & Yellows won 2-1 away to favourites Dynamo Dresden to extend their unbeaten start to the 2024 calendar year.

The scenario: The U23s had made a successful start to the new year. The rather disappointing 0-0 draw with Freiburg II had been followed by a remarkable win against promotion hopefuls Jahn Regensburg (1-0). BVB were thus unbeaten in five games, taking 11 points in that time. Things are also looking rosy for Dynamo Dresden at present. The Saxons have their sights firmly set on promotion. A victory over the U23s would see Dynamo take back top spot in the table. The two teams had previously met seven times in the 3. Liga. BVB had the inferior record (one victory, one draw and five defeats). The U23s had also lost the reverse fixture 2-0.

Personnel matters: In light of the numerous absences, several U23s had to bolster the first-team squad: goalkeeper Marcel Lotka, Ole Pohlmann and Hendry Blank were thus not available to BVB coach Jan Zimmermann, who was also without the suspended Ayman Azhil. Zimmermann made five enforced changes to the line-up that claimed the 1-0 win over Regensburg. Lotka was replaced between the sticks by Silas Ostrzinski. Falko Michel, Julian Hettwer, Justin Butler and the recently suspended Franz Pfanne were also drafted into the team.

The match & analysis: Dresden made a significantly better start to the game and immediately attacked courageously. The first real dangerous moment for the red-clad Dortmund players was in the ninth minute when the alert Ostrzinski saved a tricky free-kick cross. Three minutes later, Mario Suver made a superb sliding intervention in the six-yard box.

Led by a strong captain in Franz Pfanne, the U23s put up a fight. Coach Zimmermann's team initially sought to remain defensively compact against the promotion hopefuls and wait for mistakes to be made. Following an underhit backpass by Jonathan Meier, Rodney Elongo-Yombo was suddenly clean through on the home team's goal. The striker lost his one-on-one battle with goalkeeper Kevin Broll but the ball landed back at his feet and he fired the follow-up into the back of the net (23).

Dresden looked to hit back quickly, stayed in the ascendancy despite the deficit and kept the pressure on the Dortmund goal high. But the Black & Yellow rearguard were very solid defensively and hardly allowed the favourites any chances. Jakob Lemmer (28) and Dennis Borkowski (36) did have opportunities but lacked precision with their efforts. Shortly before the interval, BVB then had more luck when Luca Herrmann was denied by the outside of the upright (39). Despite the dominance of the home side, Dynamo could not manage to score a goal before the break.

The second period started with a huge opportunity for BVB. A Justin Butler header following a cross from Michael Eberwein rebounded off the crossbar (47). After that opportunity was missed, Dresden seized the initiative once again. The home team got closer and closer but were not compelling enough with their play in the final third.

Dynamo upped the pressure further following the introductions of Stefan Kutschke and Lucas Cueto. Cueto had only just come on the pitch when he got the assist for the equaliser. The former Karlsruhe player's cross found Lemmer, whose shot was blocked by Ostrzinski. But the ball rebounded off his leg and landed in the back of the net (65).

The U23s hardly managed to give themselves a reprieve in this period of the game. But they did continue to keep things compact at the back with their passion and commitment. Dresden simply could not make anything of their dominance and lacked the finishing touch, as they had done in the first half. A nicely taken free-kick from Meißner that was turned over by Ostrzinski and a Cueto header were initially the promotion hopeful's only opportunities.

It all happened thick and fast in the final minutes: Hauptmann of Dynamo initially hit the post from three metres, before Bamba struck completely against the run of play. The substitute ruthlessly exploited a mistake from Lars Bünning and curled the ball right-footed into the goal. Dortmund saw their narrow lead over the line and won in Dresden for the first time since 2002.

Coach Jan Zimmermann: "I'm just happy for the lads because they left everything on the pitch. Of course, you have to say that Dynamo put a lot of pressure on us and had plenty of chances. But we threw everything at it. That's how you earn and work for that bit of luck that you need."

Franz Pfanne: "I believe that if you win 2-1 in Dresden, you've done some things right. The way the win came about is of course fortunate. Dresden played a super game but simply didn't take their chances. But we were there at the right moment and then struck."

Outlook: The U23s will play host to 1. FC Saarbrücken on Friday (2 February). Kick-off at Stadion Rote Erde is at 19:00 CET. The Black & Yellows lost the reverse fixture 2-0.

Goals: 0-1 Elongo-Yombo (23), 1-1 Ostrzinski (65, own goal), 1-2 Bamba (87)

U23s: Ostrzinski - Suver, Aidonis (Aning, 70), Pfanne, Semic (Lütke-Frie, 90+2) - Michel, Eberwein, Roggow – Butler (Otouali, 70), Elongo-Yombo (Tattermusch, 90), Hettwer (Bamba, 85)