Match Report
Substitute Foti fires the U23s to victory in Unterhaching
The scenario: As the team at the bottom of the table, Unterhaching are in urgent need of points and thus changed head coach. Heiko Herrlich will be at the helm for the second half of the season. BVB coach Jan Zimmermann was therefore expecting a tough and committed opposition. Borussia had not conceded a goal in four games and have steadily improved their performances over the course of the season.
Personnel matters: In comparison to the final fixture of last year, against Saarbrücken, captain Ayman Azhil returned to the squad, replacing Antonio Foti. In attack, Michael Eberwein and Rodney Elongo-Yombo moved into the starting XI for the injured Julian Hettwer and Babis Drakas. In addition to long-term absentees Julian Hettwer and Felix Paschke (cruciate ligament rupture), David Lelle, Patrick Göbel (both ill) and Prince Aning were also unavailable.
The match: Both teams struggled to get their engines going early on. The Dortmund squad also had problems with their journey, as they had to spontaneously switch to the bus due to the closure of Dortmund Airport due to adverse weather conditions. The Black & Yellows did not arrive at their hotel until late on Saturday night.
A lot of build-up play, no offensive actions and compact defensive lines - that's how the first 25 minutes of the match could be summarised in a nutshell. Rodney Elongo-Yombo was always showing for the ball and tried to make his mark in his team's attacking endeavours. After a long pass forward from the defence, the ball landed on the head of Kjell Wätjen. The 18-year-old nodded it towards Jordi Paulina and then embarked on a run forward. Paulina played the ball into the open space for the 18-year-old Wätjen, who was clear on goal 30 metres out. He charged forward and fired a precise shot which went in off the inside of the post to make it 1-0 in the 29th minute.
It was the first real dangerous venture forward for Dortmund and immediately gave them the lead. The joy did not last long, however, as the BVB defence failed to clear a Haching throw-in sufficiently. The ball landed at the feet of Unterhaching's Alexander Leuthard, who immediately shot from a half-right position in the penalty area and found the far corner to level the scores at 1-1. Just six minutes after BVB took the lead, the game was all square again.
After a breathtaking spell with two quick goals, the half-time whistle brought a halt to the action. Neither team could be faulted for effort, but there was little in the way of real goalscoring threat.
The game didn't take off again until the 70th minute, when Paulina played a ball back across the Haching penalty area and Wätjen, seven metres out from goal, missed a golden chance to bag his brace. Not long afterwards, Azhil won the ball and sent Elongo-Yombo in down the left flank. His shot was superbly saved by Haching goalkeeper Konstantin Heide. Jan Zimmermann despaired on the touchline at his team's failure to capitalise on their chances.
In the closing stages, it was the Black & Yellows and their supporters among the crowd of 3,525 that were making their presence felt. Zimmermann brought on Antonio Foti for the goalscorer Wätjen in the 82nd minute. It proved to be the ace up the sleeve. The hosts were unable to clear a corner kick from Danylo Krevsun and Foti ruthlessly hammered the ball into the back of the net to give BVB a 2-1 lead shortly before the end. With the win, the U23s moved nine points clear of the relegation places and are now firmly established in the top half of the table.
Coach Jan Zimmermann: "I'm totally satisfied with my team's performance. We stuck to the game plan, with the exception of their goal from the throw-in, which was something we'd talked about. Playing combination football was quite difficult on the surface in this weather. That's why we wanted to make the most of the second balls. Antonio put himself at the service of the team and I'm really pleased with his goal."
Ben Hüning: "It wasn't possible to play much football here, but in the end we won dirty. We coped quite well with the problems on the journey. We knew that the longer it was a draw here, the more it would play into our hands. We then deserved to win at the end."
Outlook: The U23s now have two home games at the Rote Erde: on 26 January against Arminia Bielefeld (kick-off 19:30 CET) and on 1 February against Hansa Rostock (kick-off 14:00 CET).
Goals: 0-1 Wätjen (29), 1-1 Leuthard (34), 1-2 Foti (86)
U23s: Lotka – Mogultay, Hüning, Lührs, Krevsun – Roggow, Azhil, Wätjen (82, Foti) – Elongo-Yombo (79, Drakas), Paulina (90, Jessen), Eberwein