The year came to a close with a game that was every bit as difficult as expected. After an intense 90 minutes of football, the Borussia Dortmund U23s shared a 1-1 (1-1) draw with their counterparts at Fortuna Düsseldorf. Ansgar Knauff scored in the 27th minute for BVB.

The scenario: The standings in the Regionalliga West have remained unchanged for weeks: RW Essen are on top with 50 points, BVB are second with 43 points and two games in hand. The top team in the chasing pack are Fortuna Cologne (37 points, also two games in hand), followed by Tuesday's opponents Düsseldorf (34 points from 19 games). 

Personnel matters: Centre-forward and captain Steffen Tigges made the trip to Braunschweig with the first team on Monday evening. It was the first time the U23s' leading goalscorer has been included in the first-team squad. Teammates Ansgar Knauff and Tobi Raschl moved in the other direction, dropping down from the first team to join the U23s. Moritz Broschinski was included in the first XI for the first time since his injury. Aday Ercan's strong performance at the weekend was rewarded with a place in the starting line-up. Richmond Tachie and Alaa Bakir also returned to the team. 

The match & analysis: The Black & Yellows made an energetic and attacking-minded start to the game, controlling the ball and posing a real threat at dead-ball situations. In the 14th minute, Fortuna goalkeeper Mitryushkin misjudged a corner delivery. The ball fell at the feet of Moritz Broschinski, who was taken by surprise and couldn't compose himself for a finish. Immediately after this big chance to open the scoring, it was Düsseldorf who found themselves with a clear sight of goal. Steffen Meuer was played in one-on-one with Luca Unbehaun, but he hesitated somewhat, giving Franz Pfanne the chance to get back and make the block. Not long afterwards, Düsseldorf capitalised on a lapse in concentration from the Dortmund defence, with Phil Thierri Sieben scoring the opening goal in the 19th minute. 

BVB didn't let their heads drop after going a goal down. Enrico Maaßen's side continued to play with determination and focus. Their efforts were rewarded with an equaliser in the 27th minute: Fortuna failed to clear their lines at a corner, and the ball fell to Ansgar Knauff at the edge of the box. He took a touch and then drilled a shot into the bottom left-hand corner of the net. Borussia were the better team in the ensuing period of play. In the 39th minute, a Tobi Raschl shot from 20 metres out flew just over the bar. The home side continued to dominate. Düsseldorf were forced to commit fouls in order to catch their breath as the Black & Yellows ran rampant.

Enrico Maaßen sent out an unchanged side from the dressing room, and the match continued in much the same vein after the restart. However, BVB were unable to fashion any major goalscoring opportunities in the first 15 minutes of the second half. Nonetheless, the team's willingness to cover ground and make tackles meant they stayed on top. Düsseldorf, for their part, struggled to hold on to the ball and were generally forced to focus on defence. Borussia looked dangerous down the left-hand side, and as the match went on, they found themselves coming ever closer to scoring a second goal. The biggest chance fell to Alaa Bakir in the 71st minute; however, his shot from 20 metres out whizzed just past the right-hand post. 

Time was running out for Dortmund. Again and again, small fouls in midfield prevented the match from finding its flow. By this point, only one team was looking to play football. Fortuna sat deep in their own half and launched long balls up the pitch at every opportunity. Shortly before the end, Maaßen brought on Kolbeinn Finnsson in place of the thoroughly exhausted Moritz Broschinski. The Black & Yellows gave it their all, but the four minutes of injury time weren't enough to find a winner.

Match reactions:

Enrico Maaßen: ''We demonstrated our way of playing football again today. What we have achieved over the past half-year is impressive. I think we've played some really intense football. We showed that again today. 44 points from 19 games is an extraordinary number. We can be satisfied with this performance. We have a very young team, who all joined us in the summer. We will continue to get better and better if we stay together as a team. That's important. The boys know that. I am confident that we will play just as well in the second half of the season.''

Franz Pfanne: ''We told ourselves before the game that we would give it our all today. I think it's been a very, very intense few weeks. You could tell that we were finding it a bit more difficult than before. That's why I'm so proud of the team for putting in all the energy they had left in the tank. We came back really well after conceding the goal. We can't fault ourselves, we've put together a fantastic first half of the season.''

Outlook: The Black & Yellows can now look forward to a well-deserved winter break. The next competitive match is scheduled for 17 January, when BVB will host Alemannia Aachen (kick-off 14:00 CET). The postponed match away to the Borussia Mönchengladbach U23s has been rescheduled for 27 January (14:00 CET).

Team & goals

BVB U23: Unbehaun, Maloney, Hippe, Ercan (59, Osterhage), Bakir, Tachie (90, Bah-Traore), Pfanne, Dams, Broschinski (86, Finnsson), Knauff, Raschl

Goals: 0-1 Sieben (19), 1-1 Knauff (27)