Match Report
Ten-man U23s lose to RWE
The scenario: Following a run of three defeats on the bounce, BVB had recently gotten back on track. A 1-0 home victory had been followed by a hard-fought point in Aachen (2-2). Their visitors from Essen had been in strong form lately too. Essen had picked up 13 points from their previous five games. Before they went head-to-head, the Black & Yellows (11th) and RWE (14th) were separated by only three points in the table.
Personnel matters: BVB coach Jan Zimmermann had serious personnel problems to contend with. In addition to several long-term injury absentees, including top scorer Julian Hettwer, the U23 coach was without keeper Marcel Lotka and Franz Roggow against RWE. The ever-present midfielder had picked up his 10th yellow card in Aachen and was suspended. Silas Ostrzinski (goal) and Antonio Foti were drafted into the team as replacements, while left-back David Lelle started in an unfamiliar right-back role.
The match & analysis: The visitors from Essen made a committed start to the match, but without ever really posing a threat to Dortmund. That was mainly due to the fact that BVB embraced the challenges and offered RWE little space. After a cautious opening phase, Dortmund gradually got a better foothold in the game and started to make their first attacking inroads. Cole Campbell first tried his luck from an acute angle following some fine individual play (7), then Jordi Paulina narrowly missed the RWE goal on the volley from the edge of the box (15).
At the other end, BVB keeper Ostrzinski made his first serious intervention shortly afterwards. Ahmet Arslan tried to square the ball in the box, but Ostrzinski was on hand to block it with his foot. But the rebound landed at the feet of Julian Eitschberger, who shot immediately from the edge of the box. Dortmund's keeper raised his arms in time (19). Three minutes later, even Ostrzinski would have been unable to intervene. Lucas Brumme played a free-kick towards the back post and Michael Schultz just missed.
After that chance, the visitors were marginally in the ascendancy again, had more possession and looked more determined. However, they could not produce the moments of surprise to trouble the BVB defence. Dortmund, meanwhile, continued to make inroads on the counter-attack. Campbell in particularly showed his qualities. Essen created another opportunity in the 35th minute, with Ostrzinski saving Martinovic's shot on the turn (35).
Shortly before the break, the Black & Yellows suffered another setback. Following an aerial clash, central defender Ben Hüning landed awkwardly and had to be substituted. He was replaced by Danylo Krevsun.
The second period began with a scare for the Black & Yellows. Lelle, who had moved into central defence following Hüning's substitution, unintentionally flicked a cross towards his own goal with the back of his head. The ball landed on the roof of the net.
The technically adept Campbell in particular continued to cut a lively figure for Dortmund. The 19-year-old attacking player repeatedly created good opportunities but was unlucky with his finishing (52/63).
In front of 6,900 spectators, including almost 4,000 away fans, Dortmund shot themselves in the foot after just over an hour: Kabar, who had already been cautioned, was shown a second yellow card for committing a tactical foul. Essen immediately tried to take advantage of their numerical superiority and pinned Dortmund back. However, they were unable to do more than attempt shots from distance, which either landed in Ostrzinski's arms or flew wide of the mark.
In the 86th minute, however, the ball finally found its way into the home side's net. Substitute Kaito Mizuta, who had already tried three times from distance, curled a shot from the left corner of the penalty area that hit the underside of the crossbar and bounced over the line to put Essen 1-0 up. The 10 men of BVB were unable to hit back.
Coach Jan Zimmermann: "It was an even game. We kept finding good spaces up until the final third. Unfortunately, we lacked the final punch and the killer instinct. The red card really changed the game. The defeat doesn't do the team justice. Even with 10 men, we tried everything to get a point. We didn't give much away until the opening goal. Based on the way that we played up until the red card and the combative performance, the team would have deserved a point."
Outlook: The Black & Yellows will be away to 1860 next Sunday (9 March). Kick-off in Munich is at 13:30 CET.
Goals: 0-1 Mizuta (86)
Red card: Kabar (67)
U23s: Ostrzinski – Kabar, Hüning (Krevsun, 43), Lührs, Lelle – Wätjen, Eberwein, Foti (Azhil, 80) – Campbell (Reitz, 80), Elongo-Yombo (Mogultay, 70), Paulina (Aning, 80)
Phillip Oldenburg