Match Report
BVB Women Celebrate Three Debut Goals in Impressive Friendly
The scenario
42 days after their last match in the Regionalliga West—an 8-0 victory over Vorwärts Spoho Köln—the BVB Women got their first competitive action as part of their preparations for the upcoming season. In the first of six friendly matches, the newly formed BVB women’s team faced an opponent from the Women’s 2nd Bundesliga. Just three days after the start of training, head coach Markus Högner was particularly focused on getting the team into a rhythm during the friendly against Eintracht Frankfurt’s U20 team.
“We’ve significantly boosted our quality with seven new signings, and the existing players have also developed tremendously over the past year,” the coach said happily before the game, knowing exactly what matters: “There’s always a certain amount of pressure in the air during the first training sessions—everyone wants to prove themselves. Now it’s about integrating the new players, becoming the team, and patiently finding our rhythm.”
Opponent
Markus Högner had expected a young and very ambitious Frankfurt team heading into the match. Eintracht’s U20 team was the third-best squad in the 2nd Women’s Bundesliga during the second half of the past season. After a coaching change and thanks to a strong offense, the Frankfurt women climbed from 13th place—in the relegation zone—to 8th place in the final standings.
Match Report
Debut, debut, debut: Three new signings—Alex Popp, Lena Ostermeier, and Lara Schmidt—made their first appearances for the BVB Women in the starting lineup. “It’s a surreal feeling to suddenly be wearing this jersey,” Alex Popp remarked before the game, looking back on her first days in Black and Yellow. Alongside goalkeeper Laura van der Laan, captain Paula Reimann, Jenske Steenwijk, Noreen Günnewig, Annika Enderle, and Frederike Kempe, the starting lineup also included Mia Böger and Nora Willeke, who will play for the second team next season. For the friendly match on the grass field at the Hennef Sports School, a total of 20 field players were named to the matchday roster, each of whom got 45 minutes of playing time.
An intense first half began with chances and shots on goal from both sides. In front of 160 spectators, the Frankfurt team scored the opening goal in the 22nd minute. The BVB Women then worked their way toward the equalizer with shots on goal, including attempts by Alex Popp. Markus Högner had already highlighted Lara Schmidt’s heading ability as a new goal-scoring threat in the run-up to the match. In the 36th minute, it was the 25-year-old—who had transferred from Werder Bremen to the Black and Yellows this summer—who headed home a free kick to tie the score at 1–1. Shortly before halftime, with temperatures at 30 degrees in the blazing sun, Frankfurt retook the lead (45’+5).
In the second half, Ricarda Walkling, Ramona Maier, and Jacqueline Meißner also made their debuts for the BVB Women. And just seven minutes after the restart, the new signings celebrated their first successful combination play. Meißner outran her opponent on the right wing and hit the right post with her shot. Maier confidently converted the rebound in the 52nd minute to tie the game once again (2–2). Meißner didn’t have to wait long for her first goal for the Black and Yellows either. In the 68th minute, it was once again the Maier-Meißner duo that finished the play—following a low cross from the goal line—with a shot from point-blank range to take a 3–2 lead.
In the closing stages, the BVB Women really turned up the heat and created numerous scoring chances. Marina Scholz scored the fourth goal for the Black and Yellows after getting the better of the Frankfurt goalkeeper in a one-on-one situation (75th minute). Shortly before the end, Rita Schumacher scored the final goal of the match from the same position (87th minute)—the final score was a decisive 5–2 victory.
“Especially in the second half, we maintained good pace down the wings with Meißner and Vogel. We were also able to play forward with speed and determination through Maier, Walkling, and Leubner,” said Markus Högner, summarizing the second half. The head coach expressed satisfaction with the season opener, which marks a success during the team’s early development phase.
Preview: Training Camp
The next tough test against a Bundesliga opponent: This coming Friday, the BVB Women will travel to Westendorf, Austria, for a week-long training camp. There, the BVB Women will play their second friendly match against 1. FSV Mainz 05 on Wednesday (July 22, 5 p.m.) on the grass field in Hopfgarten im Brixental. PlutoTV will broadcast the match live and free of charge for all BVB fans.
BVB Women
First Half 1: Van der Laan – Steenwijk, Ostermeier, Kempe, Schmidt, Böger, Günnewig, Willeke, Reimann, Enderle, Popp
Second Half: Lichatschow – Wöhrn, Walkling, Maier, Schumacher, Ito, Scholz, Meißner, Leubner, Vogel, Schuster
Goals: 0–1 (22'), 1–1 Schmidt (36'), 1–2 (45'+4), 2–2 Maier (52'), 3–2 Meißner (68'), 4–2 Scholz (75'), 5–2 Schumacher (87')
Mirko Hase