The Borussia Dortmund U23s claimed a deserved 3-0 win over RW Oberhausen on Matchday 4 thanks to goals from Sergio Gómez, Sören Dieckmann and Alexander Isak. The victory, which came in front of 1,357 spectators at the Rote Erde Stadion, sees the youngsters climb to fifth place with a game in hand on their rivals.

With their narrow defeat in Wiedenbrück only three days ago, the U23s again received reinforcements from the first-team squad as the likes of Sergio Gomez, Dzenis Burnic and Alexander Isak were handed the chance to get valuable playing time under their belts. There were two changes from the starting XI that played on Sunday, with Joseph Boyamba and Dominik Wanner replacing Julian Weigl and Philipp Hanke.

Both teams spent the first 20 minutes sizing each other up and adapting to the slippery surface. But when their first clear-cut opportunity came in the 20th minute, the Black & Yellows took full advantage and put themselves 1-0 ahead. Alexander Isak went on a mazy run down the left flank in which he got the better of three Oberhausen players before picking out Sergio Gomez, who broke the deadlock from five metres out.

Watzke, Zorc & Co. in the crowd

The hosts, who were watched from the stands by Hans-Joachim Watzke, Michael Zorc, Edin Terzic and Manfred Stefes, grew in belief after scoring the opener and created their next shooting opportunity through Dzenis Burnic on the half-hour mark. His effort was blocked at the last second and went behind for a corner, however. BVB were much more compact in defence, keeping the gaps narrow between the lines to frustrate a RWO side that looked devoid of ideas and were largely limited to long-range efforts from outside the box.

Borussia sat back waiting for their chance to counter and were rewarded shortly before the interval with their second goal of the game, Sören Dieckmann combining excellently with Dominik Wanner before hitting a shot from a centre-left position that left visiting shot-stopper Robin Udegbe with no chance. Oberhausen came close to pulling one back on the stroke of half-time but, with Eric Oelschlägel beaten, Christian März's shot came back off the upright.

BVB made a bright start to the second half, again striking on the counter and often causing problems for the visiting defence. Joseph Boyamba was set up by Dominik Wanner in the 56th minute but missed an opportunity to wrap up the win by shooting centimetres wide and, with Oberhausen taking more risks, gaps opened up for BVB. Herbert Bockhorn shot narrowly wide in the 61st minute, with Dario Schumacher coming close at the other end seconds later.

Isak crowns strong display with third and final goal

The best opportunity for the visitors to halve the deficit fell to substitute Tarik Kurt with around 15 minutes of the match remaining, though his effort from an unmarked position 16 metres out sailed narrowly wide of the Dortmund goal. The visitors were made to rue that miss moments later, as young striker Alexander Isak beat four Oberhausen players and rounded off his lung-busting run from the halfway line with a strike to put BVB 3-0 up. It was a spectacular goal that was a deserved reward for his committed performance.

Borussia subsequently controlled the match and there was no further danger for Eric Oelschlägel between the sticks. The U23s will begin their preparations on Thursday for their next clash, against Fortuna Düsseldorf II, on Sunday.

Interesting side note: before kick-off, coach Jan Siewert paid a visit to the BVB fans sitting in the stands and thanked them for both their support and another excellent showing for the match that evening. Much like the players on the pitch, the fans gave it their all and the deserved victory was very much a collective effort. Siewert said: "The intensity was very high both on the pitch and in the stands. That was amazing!"

BVB U23s: Oelschlägel – Bockhorn, Pieper, Kilian, Dieckmann (Hanke, 82) – Gomez (Schwermann, 75), Burnic, Ornatelli – Wanner, Isak (Pavlidis, 88), Boyamba
Goals: 1-0 Gomez (20), 2-0 Dieckmann (40), 3-0 Isak (77)
Timo Lammert