Borussia Dortmund's U23s have missed out on the chance to move up to second in the table after losing one of their games in hand 2-0 (1-0) at Fortuna Düsseldorf II.

The Black & Yellows, whose clash with their North Rhine-Westphalian neighbours on Tuesday evening was their third away match in the space of a week, ultimately had nothing to show for their efforts in front of a crowd of around 350 spectators at the Paul-Janes Stadium. "We should've taken control of the game in the first half, but we didn't manage it," said coach Jan Siewert as he reflected on the match at full-time.

The 35-year-old fielded almost entirely the same starting XI that had recorded a comfortable victory over Wiedenbrück at the weekend. The only change came in goal where the fit-again Dominik Reimann replaced Eike Bansen, who was part of the U19 side that beat Apoel Nicosia 2-0 in the UEFA Youth League.

The BVB youngsters betrayed no hint of tiredness or overexertion in their third game in the space of eight days, though, with the spectators treated to a fast-paced and end-to-end Regionalliga encounter. The Black & Yellows initially had the better moments going forward, even if most of their attacking efforts had been thwarted before they could get to the opposition box. While the visitors were setting the pace, the hosts sat back and looked to counter. It was an approach that paid off in the 41st minute of the match, when a deflected shot from Lucoqui beat Dominik Reimann and landed in the back of the net.

The second period proved to be a tale of frustration for the visitors, who simply could not turn their dominance into goals, while Düsseldorf remained a threat on the counter-attack. In the closing stages of the match the referee waved away a Borussia Dortmund penalty appeal, before Tarsis Bonga wrapped up all three points for the hosts when he made it 2-0 in the 90th minute.

It was a third defeat of the season for the U23s, though they still sit fourth in the Regionalliga West.

Speaking after the game, Jan Siewert said: "I'm happy first of all that we had a few fans here in the stadium today. That's by no means a given when our first team are playing in the Champions League at the same time. We were unable to turn our dominance in the first half into goals. We were disorganised on one occasion and Düsseldorf immediately exploited the mistake. My team deserved a draw, but we lost 2-0. We need to learn from it – and hopefully quickly before Saturday."
(Timo Lammert)