Borussia Dortmund's U23s took on Arminia Bielefeld on Matchday 29 in the 3. Liga, but were beaten 2-0 at home. The guests from East Westphalia scored the goals in the first half hour of the match in the Rote Erde.

The scenario: After two victories against Verl and Unterhaching, BVB had fallen to a 2-1 defeat at MSV Duisburg last week. Heading into the game with BVB, Arminia Bielefeld had only managed one win in their last nine league games.

Personnel matters: BVB head coach Jan Zimmermann named an unchanged side from the game in Duisburg.

The match: The 6,269 spectators at the stadium Rote Erde saw a courageous start by the guests from Bielefeld. Arminia pressed high, causing the hosts to lose the ball deep inside the Dortmund half. Merveille Biankadi won the ball from Lion Semic in the fifth minute, but his subsequent shot was too close to Marcel Lotka in the middle of the BVB goal and the Dortmund shot-stopper had no trouble dealing with it. Antonis Aidonis had the first chance for the Black & Yellows, almost converting a Michael Eberwein corner into an early lead in the 9th minute.

Just two minutes later, Biankadi was more accurate at the other end. BVB didn't manage to clear the ball sufficiently after a Lannert corner. Biankadi found himself in space around the penalty spot and fired his shot on to the underside of the bar and over the line to give Bielefeld a 1-0 lead. Buoyed by their lead, Arminia kept the foot on the gas and produced further chances in the first half hour, with Biankadi, Kaito Mizuta and Fabian Klos all going close. There was little response from BVB during that period of dominance for the away side.

And it was another corner that saw Arminia double their lead to 2-0. Marius Wörl's flick on at the near post went in at the far post with half an hour on the referee's watch. Ten minutes before the end of the first half, Falko Michel tested the Bielefeld goalkeeper with a free kick, and Julian Hettwer went through one-on-one, but was denied by the Bielefeld keeper. They remained the two most dangerous BVB chances in the first 45 minutes.

Head coach Jan Zimmermann turned to his bench for the start of the second half, bringing on Moses Otuali in place of Falko Michel. However, it didn't have the desired effect, and had little impact on the game. Bielefeld remained strong in the tackle and dominated the game going forward. BVB looked toothless in attack, with long-range shots from Otuali in the 56th minute and Franz Roggow on 61 minutes going far wide of the goal.

Substitute Nassim Boujellab had the first big chance for Bielefeld after the sides changed ends. The midfielder had cut inside from the left wing, leaving several BVB defenders standing, and his shot went just wide of the goal in the 71st minute. In the closing stages, BVB's attacking threat did increase, with Ted Tattermusch forcing Jonas Kersken in the Bielefeld goal into a brilliant save. Bielefeld ran down the clock and managed to keep their clean sheet intact over the full five minutes of injury time.

Outlook: Next Sunday, the U23s will travel to play RW Essen. Kick-off on the Hafenstraße is at 13:30 CET.

Goals: 0-1 Biankadi (11), 0-2 Wörl (30)

U23s: Lotka – Morey (Pfanne, 64), Aidonis (Göbel, 78), Papadopoulos (Tattermusch, 78), Semic (Pudel, 64) – Azhil, Roggow, Eberwein – Hettwer, Elongo-Yombo, Michel (Otuali, 46)