Borussia Dortmund's U23s experienced a turbulent debut in the third tier at the start of the new season in Zwickau on Saturday afternoon. In front of more than 4,500 spectators, the young Black and Yellow team went on a rollercoaster of emotions.

"It was very exciting and wild, especially at the end," said a relieved Tobi Raschl, who had put his team on course for the win, making it 2-1 after just under an hour. "If we're honest, we can also be really happy and proud of the fact that we have Luca Unbehaun in goal. Here in Zwickau, in front of the home fans, it was difficult, especially when we went down to ten men – but we accepted the fight and now have our first three points."  

Goalkeeper Unbehaun picked up right where he left off last season, snatching several balls off the line against Zwickau, just as he did in the away match in Oberhausen last season. After Niklas Dams saw red, the hosts pushed for an equaliser, but BVB managed to weather the storm. "You can see the togetherness here in the squad. And if someone gets a red card, we'll deal with it as a squad. We stand and fall together. No one will go up to Niki and have a go at him," says Unbehaun. Head coach Enrico Maaßen added: "It was obvious that a second wave was coming. After the red card, it was hard for us, and in the end we rode our luck a little. We had an outstanding goalkeeper."

Shortly before 23:00 CET on Saturday evening, the Dortmund team arrived back in Brackel. Visibly exhausted, but also mightily proud, the boys got into their cars and can now look forward to two days off before preparing for the first home game on Saturday against Waldhof Mannheim. 

And how was the first game of the new season for coach Enrico Maaßen? "It was the first game for us in the 3. Liga, the first time in a long time with fans in the stadium again, going a goal behind early, with the red card and missing several important players – so we are very happy with the performance. We will take the three points," said the coach.