Match Report
U23s beat league leaders Dresden
The scenario: The U23s went into their top match against Dresden on the back of two defeats. Meanwhile, two draws in the last three matches had increased the pressure on promotion candidates Dynamo.
Personnel matters: Ayman Azhil, Cole Campbell, Almugera Kabar and Kjell Wätjen were with the first team for their game against Union Berlin on Saturday and were not available to U23 coach Jan Zimmermann for the top match.
The match & analysis: Most of the atmosphere in the first half came from the stands, with the 6,810 spectators providing a worthy setting for the Friday evening top match. The roles on the pitch were clearly defined: the Dortmund U23s were defensively compact, while Dresden had more than 70% possession – albeit without ever posing a real goal threat.
The most notable scoring opportunity fell to BVB in the 25th minute: A Dresden player mishit his clearance following a Patrick Göbel cross and the ball landed at the feet of Julian Hettwer. The 21-year-old immediately shot from a central position in front of goal but his attempt was saved by Dynamo goalie Tim Schreiber. The visitors had two big opportunities to take the lead before the break – first through Aljaz Casar's low strike and then a short while later via a corner-kick. Goalkeeper Marcel Lotka was on hand in both situations and the half-time whistle sounded with the score 0-0.
The Borussia amateurs took the lead almost immediately after the whistle for the second half had been blown: New signing Jordi Paulina needed 50 seconds after the restart to score his first goal in Black & Yellow. A Dresden clearance landed at the feet of Franz Roggow, who threaded the ball through to Antonio Foti. Foti's shot was parried by Tim Schreiber in between the posts for Dresden but Jordi Paulina slotted into the empty net on the follow-up to make it 1-0 (46).
The league leaders grew even stronger after Borussia's goal – and were rewarded with the equaliser for 1-1 in the 66th minute. Tony Menzel picked out Christoph Daferner at the near post with a free-kick and he directed an unstoppable header past Marcel Lotka and into the far corner. Dresden were now clearly on the front foot – but they were caught off guard 11 minutes later.
Antonio Foti conjured up the moment of the Friday evening at the Rote Erde. The new signing received the ball down the left flank following a pass from Baran Mogultay, cut inside and fired into the far corner of the Dresden goal from 24 metres out to make it 2-1. The celebrations of the 5,130 Black & Yellow fans and the Borussia players and staff on the bench knew no bounds. Dynamo goalie Schreiber was powerless to keep out the spectacular strike. Borussia worked together to thwart the final attacking efforts of their visitors and were rewarded for a courageous display.
Jan Zimmermann: "I'm totally proud. I've now been here for two years but I've never been as satisfied with my team as I am today. We did exactly what we wanted to do. That was a very good game by us. In the current phase, that is a very important moment. Antonio is super. He has great abilities; he is sometimes slightly too self-critical but he has great potential."
Antonio Foti: "I'm very proud to have scored my first goal for the team. For me, it was our best match so far. I looked at the corner and I've been told I sometimes need to just have a go. I did that and it was a nice goal. I can hardly wait for the next match with the team."
Outlook: The U23s will continue their campaign with an away trip to Viktoria Köln after the international break. Kick-off on 19/10 is at 14:00 CEST.
Goals: 1-0 Paulina (46), 1-1 Menzel (66), 2-1 Foti (77)
U23s: Lotka – Mogultay, Lelle, Lührs, Göbel – Roggow, Krevsun (Paschke, 70) – Hettwer (Elongo Yombo, 81), Eberwein, Foti (Hüning, 90) – Paulina (Drakas, 70)