The Borussia Dortmund U23s lost 2-0 to the 1. FC Cologne U21s in front of 1,100 spectators at the Franz-Kremer-Stadion on Monday evening. Shot-stopper Eric Oelschlägel was twice beaten in the first half as the Black & Yellows suffered a defeat that keeps them in seventh place in the Regionalliga West table.

The scenario:

Having last played in the 1-0 defeat to SV Rödinghausen 24 days ago and had numerous fixtures postponed since then, the Borussia Dortmund U23s had slipped several places down the table. Cologne, meanwhile, are embroiled in a relegation battle but had won their last three matches.

Personnel matters:

BVB boss Alen Terzic was forced into replacing defensive mainstay Marco Rente with senior player Leonardo Balerdi. The 20-year-old Argentinian centre-back was making his debut in the black and yellow of BVB. He was joined by another member of the senior squad, Sergio Gomez, in a team captained by Julian Schwermann.

The first half:

Dortmund enjoyed a lot of possession in their own half at the outset, while Cologne remained compact at the back. The hosts had the first good chance after four minutes, taking the lead when Chris Führich converted a free-kick awarded for a foul on the edge of the penalty area. BVB responded by creating an opportunity to equalise on the six-minute mark, but Kilian's header sailed wide of the target.

The game lost some of its edge in the ensuing period as BVB continued to dominate possession but made too many errors in their build-up play, which Cologne failed to exploit. In the 21st minute, Luca Kilian broke through down the right and crossed the ball towards Jano Baxmann, whose header flew narrowly over the bar. Then, after 36 minutes, the hosts doubled their advantage when a long-range effort was spilled back into the danger zone by Oelschlägel and Roman Prokoph was left with the simplest of tap-ins. BVB did not create clear-cut chances in the opening half, while the men from Cologne were clinical in front of goal and deserved to go in at half-time with a two-goal cushion.

The second half:

Both coaches refrained from making changes at the break. Four minutes after the restart, Dortmund's standout performer Taylan Duman had the chance to halve the deficit but his free-kick was narrowly wide of the mark. The game showed little sign of improvement in the second period, with the hosts maintaining their lead and the visitors showing little in the way of imagination. Alen Terzic made his first change on the hour-mark, replacing Jano Baxmann with the fit-again Herbert Bockhorn. Rizzo came on for Bah-Traore soon afterwards. The Black & Yellows had their best chance to pull a goal back with seven minutes to go, but Gianluca Rizzo missed from the penalty spot after Luca Kilian had been fouled. All in all, BVB were lacking the required penetration and precision going forward over the 90 minutes, with a free-kick and an individual error proving the difference as the visitors were deservedly condemned to a 2-0 defeat.

The outlook:

The U23s are next in action on Saturday when they host basement boys TV Herkenrath. That game at the Rote Erde Stadion will kick off at 14:00 CET.

BVB U23s: Oelschlägel – Kilian, Balerdi, Konate, Bah-Traore (Rizzo, 67), Wanner – Schwermann, Gomez, Duman – Boyamba, Baxmann (Bockhorn, 58)

Goals: 1-0 Führich (4), 2-0 Prokoph (36)