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Winning goal in the 121st minute: U17s are German champions!
The final turned into a thrilling game of football. Leverkusen crowned an outstanding first half with the opening goal, while BVB equalised with a goal from Thierry Tazemeta after a significant improvement in performance. The final phase saw a flurry of events. Bayer looked to have clinched the championship after going 2-1 up in the 91st minute, but Dortmund's Diego Ngambia converted a penalty kick awarded to Taycan Etcibasi three minutes into stoppage time to draw the two teams level at 2-2. 14-year-old Luca Riedl then scored the winning goal with a header in the dying seconds after 30 minutes of extra time.
"Congratulations to the players, coaching team and support staff. The team showed great morale, cancelled out two deficits and were the better team from the 45th minute onwards. We are all proud of the boys,' congratulated Hans-Joachim Watzke, the club's CEO, who, like his colleagues Carsten Cramer and Lars Ricken as well as head of sport Sebastian Kehl and president Reinhold Lunow, was in the stands cheering on the team.
The game got off to the worst possible start for BVB. Kerim Alajbegovic surprised Leon Herdes in the 5th minute with an overhit attempted cross that looped over the stunned goalkeeper and into the back of the net. It was a real gut punch to go behind so early. Although the Black & Yellows created the odd half-chance, the lively Leverkusen side dominated the game in the first half.
A clear improvement and a frenetic finale
"They were fresher, more aggressive and almost impossible to defend against. But you can't write Borussia off, the tide can still turn," said Hannes Wolf, the current DFB youth sporting director and former BVB coach, during the half-time break. Marco Lehmann used the half-time break to make tactical adjustments and a substitution. Anas Mahjoubi replaced Jonas Feddersen on the left side of defence, where Leverkusen had managed to make inroads in attack.
Dortmund, who were unable to land a glove on their opponents in the first half and were lucky not to fall two goals down when Alajbegovic rattled the woodwork in the 25th minute, rustled up a magnificent second-half performance. The Black & Yellows were industrious, playing with more determination, courage and aggression, forcing their previously dominant opponents onto the back foot. And BVB were soon rewarded for this bold approach: after a long ball forward by Valon Cena, Thierry Tazemeta pounced on his opportunity and made no mistake in finding the back of the net to draw the two sides level at 1-1 (51).
BVB took control of the game with determination. Mussa Kaba and Tim Degener excelled in the midfield and successfully snuffed out any danger from Leverkusen attacks. Down the other end, the Black & Yellows were doing a much better job of bringing their skilful forwards into play. Diego Ngambia had two shots on target, while Thierry Tazemeta, Ousmane Diallo and substitute Taycan Ectibasi each tested Bayer goalkeeper Jesper Schlich with dangerous efforts on target. The only thing that could deny Fleck at the end of regulation time was the desperate outstretched leg of a Leverkusen defender.
That was the start of a frantic finale: first Bayer's Jeremiah Mensah won the ball in midfield and drove forward unopposed before firing a shot past Leon Herdes in the first minute of stoppage time to make it 2-1. Surely the trophy was headed to Leverkusen? Nope, Borussia picked themselves up, fought till the end and got their just rewards. 90 seconds after the announced time added on had passed, Etcibasi dribbled into the penalty area and was felled to the ground by Nils Gernhardt - penalty. Diego Ngambia stepped up to take the spotkick and made no mistake in tying things up at 2-2. We were destined for extra time, in which both teams would be pushed to their limits.
Lehmann: "It was wild, it was emotional"
With preparations already underway for the penalty shoot-out, BVB risked one last venture forward through Luca Riedl, who had replaced the injured Mahjoubi. Leverkusen cleared the ball for a corner. Len Wörsdörfer launched his delivery into the six-yard box and Luca Riedl nodded it into the back of the net.
"I've never seen a game like that before - it was totally wild, it was emotional," beamed coach Marco Lehmann. Lars Ricken, Borussia's managing director of sport, happily embraced every player: "I couldn't be prouder of the boys. To come back like this after a poor first half is a great story."
The season is not yet over for the German champions. On Thursday (18:30 CEST), the U17s will play the semi-final of the Westfalenpokal away to Hombrucher SV (kick-off 18:30 CEST). Ousmane Diallo and Elias Benkara will move up to the U19s for the final round of the German Championship and will be looking to celebrate their second championship title.
BVB: Herdes – Cena, Benkara, Reggiani, Feddersen (46, Mahjoubi, 99, Riedl) – Kaba, Degener (96, Blaszczyk)– Fleck, Ngambia (106, Wörsdörfer), Diallo (86, Etcibasi) – Tazemeta
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