The 177 spectators at Stadion Rote Erde on Saturday lunchtime witnessed a high-scoring and one-sided Regionalliga match in which the Borussia Dortmund reserves demolished RW Ahlen 6-0 (5-0). Niklas Dams, Richmond Tachie, Maximilian Hippe, Taylan Duman (two) and Steffen Tigges got the goals for the Black & Yellows.

The scenario: BVB went into this fixture as league leaders, closely pursued by RW Essen and Preußen Münster, who went head to head in this round of matches. Enrico Maaßen and his charges boasted an excellent record prior to kick-off, having taken 17 points, racked up a goal difference of 14-6 and not suffered a single defeat in their opening seven matches. Opponents RW Ahlen, meanwhile, were languishing down in 19th place in the table with four points from seven games. Coach Björn Mehnert's charges had lost to Tus Haltern in the Westfalenpokal in midweek. The last meeting between the Dortmund U23s and Ahlen took place in April 2017 and ended 1-1. 

Personnel matters: Enrico Maaßen made three changes to the starting XI that had recorded a 3-2 home victory over Wegberg-Beeck. Marco Hober, Alaa Bakir and Dominik Wanner replaced Cebrail Makreckis, Florian Krebs and Aday Ercan. Philipp Harlass was included in the squad after recovering from injury.

The match & analysis: BVB were the superior side from the first whistle, dominating the opening minutes with lots of possession, good passing and a high level of concentration off the ball. Barely five minutes were up when visiting goalkeeper Bernd Schipmann was beaten for the first time, with central defender Niklas Dams converting a Marco Hober corner to open the scoring. Steffen Tigges could have doubled the advantage only a few seconds later but his shot struck the upright and the score initially remained 1-0. Eight minutes later, however, Richmond Tachie exploited a lapse of concentration in the Ahlen defence to make it 2-0.

The opening minutes proved to be an early indicator of how the remainder of the first half would pan out. Maximilian Hippe made it 3-0 with a volley from the edge of the penalty area in the 19th minute, before Taylan Duman converted a spot-kick awarded for a foul on Alaa Bakir only three minutes later. BVB allowed themselves and their opponents a little breather in the minutes that followed, before upping the tempo once more. On the half-hour mark, Schipmann palmed Lennard Maloney's cross-cum-shot into the path of Duman who emphatically volleyed home the fifth. The Black & Yellows continued to play on the front foot and carved open chance after chance, ultimately taking a comfortable lead into the half-time interval.

There were no signs of BVB dropping down a gear after the break either. Only six minutes had been played when Steffen Tigges added to the scoreline, the centre-forward exploiting a lack of coordination in the Ahlen rearguard to make it 6-0. BVB coach Enrico Maaßen made a triple substitution on the hour mark, but that did little to dampen the spirit on show since the get-go. While there may have been fewer goals in the second period, the Dortmund youngsters repeatedly looked dangerous and pinned the visitors back into their own half time and time again. The margin of victory might have been higher in the end, but it was still a thoroughly dominant display from BVB, who remain top of the Regionalliga West table with 20 points. Behind them are RW Essen in second (18 points) and Düsseldorf II in third (15 points).

Outlook: Next up for the U23s is a trip to SV Lippstadt on Wednesday. The kick-off is at 18:00 CET.

Team & goals

BVB U23s: Drljaca, Maloney (Finnsson, 62), Hippe, Hober (Krebs, 62), Bakir (Bah-Traoré, 62), Duman, Tachie, Tigges, Pfanne, Dams, Wanner (Schmeling, 72)

Goals: 1-0 Dams (5), 2-0 Tachie (13), 3-0 Hippe (19), 4-0 Duman (22), 5-0 Duman (32), 6-0 Tigges (51)
Timo Lammert