The Borussia Dortmund women's team beat Westfalia Hagen 4-0 in their Bezirksliga opener thanks to an improved performance in the second half. Ana Louisa Zabell opened the scoring for the Black & Yellows following a corner, before three long-range strikes in three minutes rounded off the victory in the closing stages.

The BVB women made two changes compared to the cup tie against Wadersloh – Becker in place of the suspended Jung and Pörteners for Glänzer – for their Bezirksliga debut. Luisa Bergmann slotted into central defence alongside Nora Rechenbach.

While the promoted outfit from the Strobelallee recorded more possession at the beginning, the first half was all about getting their first taste of life in the Bezirksliga. A low shot towards the near post by Vanessa Kuhl from 16 metres out was the most dangerous moment in front of the Hagen goal, but the Westfalia shot-stopper was on hand to keep it out and the score stayed goalless until the break. "We made an unusual number of misplaced passes, did not show good movement and didn't use the space available," said Thomas Sulewski of the first 45 minutes.

Sulewski called for "more passion and desire" in his half-time team-talk. His team came out of the changing rooms in imposing fashion and earned themselves a series of set-piece opportunities, with a corner from Vanessa Kuhl leading to the opener around the hour mark. The opposition goalie could only get her fingertips to the cross and Ana Louisa Zabell was the quickest to pounce on the loose ball, firing home from five metres. "A goal earned by sheer desire," said coach Sulewski. Zabell also scored the first goal of the Kreisliga campaign from a corner a year ago.

The deadlock was broken, but the floodgates did not subsequently open and penalty box action remained scarce. In light of that, it did not come as a surprise that all the remaining goals were scored from range. They all came in the space of three brilliant minutes, with Mandy Reinhardt scoring her first competitive goal with a shot right into the right corner in the 80th minute before Vanessa Kuhl scored two stunning efforts (81, 82). "The performance is defintely one that can be built on, however it was our first match in the Bezirksliga. We first need to get a feel for it but overall we can be satisfied," said goalscorer Ana Louisa Zabell. Coach Sulewski's conclusion was along the same lines. "We're satisfied with the result, but against such deep-lying teams we have to devise a plan and execute it consistently to keep the opponents occupied in the penalty area."

BVB: Schröer – Hentrich (Gerres, 83), Bergmann, Rechenbach, Pörteners (Auffenberg, 46) – Becker (Billig, 73) – Lau, Grothe, Zabell (Rogge-Herper, 62), Kuhl – Kaul (Reinhardt, 55)

Goals: 1-0 Zabell (61), 2-0 Reinhardt (80), 3-0 Kuhl (81), 4-0 Kuhl (82)

Attendance: 450

(df)