First defeat: The Borussia Dortmund U23s lost their home match against Alemannia Aachen 0-2 and so their place at the top of the table. Trainer Jan Siewert complained that "our plan went awry today".

After the exhausting match away at Viktoria Köln (Cologne) last Sunday, the Borussia Dortmund U23s' next fixture in the Regional League West today this Wednesday evening was already fast approaching. Due to visit were the men from Aachen, who had made a modest start to their league campaign. Jan Siewert made substantial changes to the team that played last week. Jadon Sancho, Paterson Chato, and also Eike Bansen were put into the starting eleven. Michael Eberwein (stomach problem) and Dominik Reimann (training with the DFB) were absent from the squad. Beyhan Ametov started on the bench.

However, the team were not to enjoy the success they had done last Sunday. The Aachen men inflicted BVB's first loss of the season on them. Both goals came during the first passage of play, and BVB had few chances to turn the game around in the second.

Things didn't look so bad as the whistle was blown to start the game. BVB kept the ball customarily well in the first 45 minutes of the encounter. Jadon Sancho lined up on the left hand side of midfield as he had done two weeks ago, while Chato took up Michael Eberwein's position in central midfield. The first shot on goal of the game fell to Patrick Pflücke after about four minutes. His effort was well over the bar.

The Aachen back four stood deep from the beginning on. BVB made use of their superior pace on the flanks, though, to work another chance for themselves in the fifth minute. Jadon Sancho let his man run into thin air before teeing up Janni Serra in a central position. The centre-forward, however, was a step off the pace, otherwise the game would have stood 1-0 at this early juncture already.

The early 1-0 lead was, then, taken by the visitors. After a long ball sent forward towards striker Torunarigha, indecisiveness in the Dortmund defence meant that the towering striker was able to get round BVB goalkeeper Bansen and subsequently slot home to bring up the 1-0. The goal would prove to be the critical point in the match. It was a feeling to which the Black and Yellows are not accustomed, who after conceding lost the plot a little.

Things worsened before half time. Marcel Damaschek was able to reach the ball after a free-kick ahead of Bansen, and so could head in to extend the guests' lead to 2-0. BVB had been seeking to get their game back in order and work the ball up field in a controlled manner, but the second goal came at the least opportune moment. Aachen's ruthlessness in front of goal was optimal, as they did not get many more chances across the rest of the game. Things stood at 0-2 as the first half drew to a close.

And it was the Aachen men who were to have the better of it as the second half began. Jan Siewert decided to make a change and brought on the recently strong Beyhan Ametov for Jadon Sancho. The rapid winger introduced a decent amount of pace into Dortmund's attack. The 550 spectators present witnessed an engaged but all too innocuous Dortmund team. Aachen defended well, and were frequently dangerous on the counter.

Jan Siewert now threw everything forwards, and brought on Philipp Hanke, another attacking player, onto the right wing. Time, however, slipped through the Black and Yellows' grasp, as the Aachen boys snuffed out attacks intelligently at the back, despite the ever growing pressure placed on them by the Dortmund players.

Siewert was of course disappointed after the game: "Our plan went awry today. We lost the fixture in the first half. We got ourselves into the game a bit more in the second. We need to learn from this match, so we will have to go over it and analyse it. After that, we move forward."
Timo Lammert