Match Report
U23s come from behind to beat Aue 3-1
The scenario: The question before the match was who would continue their run. Aue arrived in the Ruhr on a three-game unbeaten streak, while Dortmund were undefeated in two matches. BVB had only ever won once against Aue.
Personnel matters: Jan Zimmermann used his squad returnees and changed up the starting XI. The coach made five changes. Marcel Lotka, Almugera Kabar, Yannik Lührs, Jordi Paulina and Cole Campbell came into the line-up. Niklas Jessen was also set to start but sustained an injury in the warm-up. Patrick Göbel started at right-back in his stead.
The match & analysis: The match provided great Sunday evening entertainment. Both teams wanted to play football and didn't sit back. And so it didn't take long for the opening goal to come: A ball in behind the Dortmund defence found Kilian Jakob, who slotted it past Marcel Lotka to make it 1-0 to Aue.
The home team hit back with a quick response through Cole Campbell only five minutes later. The American did not train with the U23s at all during the week but slotted in perfectly. Michael Eberwein teed up the 18-year-old, who showed great technique to round Aue keeper Martin Männel and prod home for 1-1.
In the 27th minute, Antonio Foti played the ball through a gap in the visitors' central defence and picked out Julian Hettwer, who chipped the ball beautifully over Männel and into the Aue net to make it 2-1. It worked exactly as coach Zimmermann had hoped before the game: his team took full advantage of their high tempo in attack – despite all their difficulties in terms of training rhythm and the availability of players during the week.
The Black & Yellows were awarded a spot-kick for a foul six minutes later. Eberwein fired the penalty to the left but it was at a comfortable height for Männel, who saved it and rescued the visitors, who then came close to an equaliser. Yannik Lührs first blocked a shot from Jakob three metres from the Dortmund goal, before a direct free-kick from the edge of the penalty area thundered against the woodwork of Lotka's goal seconds later. Efficiency was the key factor in the first half of the match.
Aue re-emerged stronger following the interval and had more possession. But the side from Saxony did not manage to break down the compact U23s and carve out routes to Lotka's goal. A series of crosses flew harmlessly across the penalty area or over the goal. The hosts focused on winning the ball back where possible in order to subsequently pick up the pace and create danger on the counter-attack.
BVB coach Zimmermann showed his Midas touch with around 20 minutes remaining. Because the 21-year-old Babis Drakas had only just entered the fray when he played in Eberwein down the right flank. Eberwein delivered a sharp cross into the penalty area and picked out Hettwer at the back post. The winger slotted home to complete his brace and make it 3-1 (73). In the final quarter of an hour, the Black & Yellows needed to withstand Aue's attacking pressure. But the three points never came under threat.
Coach Jan Zimmermann: "I think we played a good game. Even though we scored three goals, we failed to seal the result earlier on. We allowed ourselves to be pushed slightly too far back in the final quarter of an hour. We defended well and scored goals going forward – a good performance from the boys today. Almu was only supposed to play one half. Cole performed really well and put himself at the service of the team. But the rest of the team was also really good. Our play looks very good when the team gets into its flow. The continued development of Julian Hettwer is impressive for me. He's set the bar for himself."
Julian Hettwer: "It was really fun today. I hope that my development continues to improve. I will keep working and try to play myself into the spotlight. The lob was intuitive, I didn't think too much about it. I thought first of all that it was going over. For the second goal, it was a horrible ball with the weaker foot. But I wanted to jump in and somehow apply pressure to the ball. Michi Eberwein will hopefully continue to deliver even more balls like that."
Outlook: The U23s will next be action away to the Hannover 96 reserves next week. Kick-off is at 14:00 CET. The next home game will be against Wehen Wiesbaden on 7 December.
Goals: 0-1 Jakob (6), 1-1 Campbell (11), 2-1 Hettwer (27), 3-1 Hettwer (73)
U23s: Lotka – Kabar (Mogultay, 46), Hüning, Lührs, P. Göbel – Roggow, Eberwein – Foti (Paschke, 60) – Hettwer (Krevsun, 79), Paulina (Drakas, 69), Campbell (Elongo-Yombo, 60)