The Borussia Dortmund U23s have kicked off their 2018/19 Regionalliga campaign with a 2-1 away win over Bonner SC. Coach Jan Siewert's charges were in the ascendancy for much of the match but fell behind and did not manage to score until the final 10 minutes, when Julian Schwermann and Jano Baxmann both struck to turn the game on its head.

With several hundred travelling fans watching on, the young Black & Yellows made a lively start in Bonn and set up camp in the opposition half in the opening minutes. Their first good opportunity came around the five-minute mark when Sören Dieckmann found himself unmarked in the box following a diagonal ball from Patrick Pflücke, but his shot sailed several metres over. The pace died down in the period that followed and the hosts started to make their first tentative forays into the Dortmund half, although the men from the Rhineland only came close at all on two occasions. BVB, who had travelled with 16 players, covered a lot of ground and remained patient going forward, next posing a danger when Sören Dieckmann struck goalbound from distance with 20 minutes on the clock. Referee Nico Fuchs subsequently paused the game for a drinks break, which was a good call given the sweltering temperatures of 28 degrees.

Borussia continued to pile on the pressure thereafter and won a free-kick roughly 25 metres from the Bonn goal on 27 minutes. Captain Massimo Ornatelli stepped up and went for goal, only to be denied by the side netting. The Black & Yellows were edging ever closer to breaking the deadlock at this stage and almost did so in the 39th minute through Beyhan Ametov, whose effort from a Dieckmann cross sailed narrowly over the frame of the goal. There were few incidents of note in the remainder of the first half and Bonn managed to get to half-time with the game still goalless.

Siewert opted against making any changes at the break and his charges continued to dominate, with Bonner SC sitting very deep in their own half and looking to relieve the pressure through long balls. But around the hour-mark they became more adventurous and started to venture towards Jan-Pascal Reckert's goal, though they proved no more capable than their visitors when it came to converting their chances. That changed in the 63rd minute, though, when Adis Omerbasic took advantage of a misunderstanding in the reshuffled BVB back four and nabbed a lucky goal for Bonner SC.

Coach Jan Siewert reacted to falling behind by bringing on Herbert Bockhorn to replace Beyhan Ametov on the right flank, while attacking midfielder Patrick Pflücke made way for Leon Burggraf, who came on to make his Regionalliga debut. Borussia now began to take more risks, leaving themselves more vulnerable to counter-attacks.

Sometimes, if link-up play doesn't achieve the desired result, then it's worth having a go from distance. And that's what Julian Schwermann did when he hammered the ball straight into the corner from 25 metres out to score a sensational goal, making it 1-1 with seven minutes to go. Things all happened very quickly after that. Barely three minutes later Jano Baxmann received a lovely ball from Massimo Ornatelli and hit a well-placed shot into the bottom corner to put the visitors 2-1 ahead. Finally in front, Borussia held on to their narrow lead to see out the win.

Siewert's charges are next in action against Viktoria Köln next weekend. Kick-off at the Rote Erde Stadium will be at 14:00 CET on Saturday.
Timo Lammert