Borussia Dortmund's U23s have ended their three-match winless run and reclaimed second place in the table after beating Wattenscheid 09 3-1 (0-1) in their game in hand. The goals − from Rente, Hanke and Gomez − all came between the 50th and 53rd minutes.

Wednesday evening saw the Borussia Dortmund U23s make the journey to nearby Wattenscheid to play their game in hand, which had initially been scheduled for Matchday 3. "We played some fantastic football after the break," said Jan Siewert of the period that ultimately decided the game.

The BVB boss made three changes to the starting XI that lined up against SV Straelen on Saturday. First-team players Alexander Isak and Sergio Gomez made the team sheet, as did captain Massimo Ornatelli.

Following a cautious first few minutes, the Black & Yellows had their first goalscoring opportunity on the 10-minute mark when a long-range effort from Herbert Bockhorn struck the woodwork. As the midway point of the opening period approached, the BVB youngsters took control of the game against a defensively compact Wattenscheid side that looked to get the ball forward into the Dortmund half at speed after regaining possession.

The main threat initially stemmed from set-pieces. A Massimo Ornatelli free-kick in the 27th minute came close to finding its way into the back of the net, only to be kept out by Steffen Scharbaum in the Wattenscheid goal. SGW seldom managed to break the Dortmund stranglehold, with most of the play taking place in the home side's half. That said, BVB custodian Oelschlägel did make a standout save on the half-hour mark when he parried a dangerous free-kick onto the bar − Wattenscheid's best opportunity of the match until that point. But they managed to go one better with four minutes of the first half remaining, Lobinger rising highest in the penalty area to head home a corner and put the hosts in the lead. The whistle went shortly afterwards and the visitors trudged in a goal down at the break.

Jan Siewert made a change in the centre-forward position at the start of the second period, with Gianluca Rizzo replacing Alexander Isak, and the visitors came racing out of the blocks, with goals from Marco Rente (50), Philipp Hanke (52) and Sergio Gomez (53) turning the game on its head within three minutes.

The Black & Yellows kept their composure and came through the second period largely unscathed, though there was a scare in the 82nd minute when a Wattenscheid player struck the woodwork. "I'm happy to be heading home to Dortmund with three points from the Lohrheide. It's not easy to win here," said a delighted Jan Siewert after the whistle.

The U23s will be back in competitive action as soon as Saturday, when they play host to the Borussia Mönchengladbach reserves. That match, which will be played at the Rote Erde Stadion, kicks off at 14:00 CET.

BVB U23s: Oelschlägel – Hanke, Rente, Pieper, Dieckmann – Ornatelli, Boadu, Gomez (Hober, 74) – Boyamba, Bockhorn (Baxmann, 90), Isak (Rizzo, 46)
Goals: 1-0 Lobinger (41), 1-1 Rente (50), 1-2 Hanke (52), 1-3 Gomez (53)
Timo Lammert