The Borussia Dortmund women have carried over their winning form from the end of last year into 2022, beating higher-division opponents SV Leithe 2-1 (1-1) in a friendly as they kicked off their preparations for the second half of the season on a successful note. BVB assistant coach Dustin Wurst, who stepped in for ill head coach Thomas Sulewski, was satisfied: "That was definitely okay given the length of the break."

The two teams were testing each other out at the start of this match in Essen. A moment of carelessness in the Dortmund rearguard allowed Leithe to take the lead, with Annika Gutmann taking advantage of the confusion to round BVB keeper Lena Kölmel and make it 1-0. The opener gave the home side the momentum, with Leithe now dominating. Borussia were overwhelmed, making too many mistakes and frequent wrong decisions in possession. Their first opportunity came on the quarter-hour mark when Ana Zabell pulled the trigger, forcing Marina Braun in the Leithe goal to turn it behind for a corner. Louisa Bergmann delivered the resultant corner perfectly on to the head of the unmarked Virginia Glänzer, who headed home for 1-1. The goal brought the visitors to life, who were now playing with purpose and totally on their game. Though further chances did not materialise, the Dortmund ladies now had control. Glänzer could have put BVB ahead from a Bergmann free-kick 10 minutes before the break, but could not generate enough power on her shot.

The BVB women did not get off to a good start in the second half either, in part due to their six changes. Inaccuracies and a lack of coordination caused many breakdowns in their build-up play. But the Leithe women were not able to take control of the game in this period either. The 210 spectators witnessed a game low on highlights. Until the 73rd minute, when Vanessa Heim shot from 25 metres and put the ball over SV goalie Braun and into the net to make it 2-1. By now the lead was deserved: Dortmund were the livelier team, even if chances remained scarce. Heim had the chance to extend the lead a few minutes before the final whistle, but her shot missed the target. In the end, BVB deserved their 2-1 away win in Essen. "We saw a few things we needed to work on," said Durst. "Simple passing, defensive coordination and decision-making." The BVB women will play their next friendly away to Mülheimer SV next Sunday (13:00 CET).

BVB: Kölmel (Schröer, 46) – Schneider (Gerres, 46), Jung, Glänzer (Prinzen, 46), Pörteners (Fälker, 46) – Bergmann, Zabell (Rogge-Herper, 46) – Höhl, Billig (Becker, 46), Heim, Lau

Goals: 0-1 Gutmann (6), 1-1 Glänzer (16), 2-1 Heim (73)