Borussia claim 8-7 shootout victory as action-packed final goes to penalties

What an atmosphere and what a spectacle: the final of the German A-Junior Championship was certainly a wonderful advertisement for youth football. It was Borussia who had the first two very early chances of the evening through Amenyido (offside) and Schwermann (long-range), but Bayern subsequently launched several dangerous attacks culminating in Shabani heading narrowly wide in the tenth minute.

The men from Munich played a high-pressing game in the first period as they sought to disrupt BVB's passing and positional play, forcing the Black & Yellows into long balls instead. That only served to inject even more tempo into this lively encounter, with shots – many of them long-range – raining down on both goals and both teams fighting – fairly, it must be said – for every single ball.

The 33,450-strong crowd at Signal Iduna Park included members of the first-team squad and the club hierarchy, who were all on the edge of their seats 68 seconds into the second half when David Kopacz latched onto a perfect pass and rounded Bayern shot-stopper Ron Thorben Hoffmann, only to fire his subsequent effort wide of the mark. Two minutes later Kopacz burst into the penalty area and fired goalbound, only to see Hoffmann make the save with an outstretched foot.

The Black & Yellows, playing towards the South Stand, were now in full flow and would have broken the deadlock if Passlack had not hit the upright after surging through midfield in the 58th minute. At the other end, Eike Bansen had fished a Tarnat free-kick out of the top corner six minutes earlier.

As a largely balanced and high-quality affair entered the closing stages it was the Black and Yellows who had the better of the chances. Substitute Baxmann was denied by the excellent Hoffmann with two efforts from centre-right positions in the 79th and 87th minutes, before Bulut's header was saved by the Munich custodian 60 seconds later.

Bansen saves, Pieper holds his nerve

Borussia continued to dominate in extra-time but it was Bayern who found the net, although celebrations were short-lived as Awoudja's 103rd-minute goal was ruled to be offside. There was passion and power on both sides. BVB, who were benefiting from home advantage, dug deep and launched wave after wave of attack but even Bulut's shot in the 121st minute went narrowly wide and the match went to penalties.

The shootout took place in front of the South Stand and was not decided until the 17th and 18th penalties, when Bansen denied Tillmann before Amos Pieper fired home.

BVB: Bansen – Passlack (Schulte, 86), Kilian, Pieper, Beste – Laukart, Burnic – Kopacz, Wanner (Bulut, 56), Schwermann (Baxmann, 67) – Amenyido (Serra, 76)
Goals: None
Penalties: 0-1 Götze, 1-1 Beste, Stingl (over), Schulte (saved), 1-2 Hadzic, 2-2 Laukart, 2-3 Friedl, 3-3 Serra, 3-4 Crnicki, 4-4 Burnic, 4-5 Emghannes, 5-5 Bulut, 5-6 Awoudja, 6-6 Baxmann, 6-7 Tarnat, 7-7 Kilian, Tillman (saved), 8-7 Pieper   
Attendance: 33,450
Boris Rupert

BVB total! video: Watch the highlights of the German U19 Championship final