The Borussia Dortmund U23s ran out comfortable 3-0 winners in their rearranged Matchday 25 fixture away to Wuppertaler SV. It was a night to remember for Dario Scuderi, who made an emotional return to the squad after an extended spell on the sidelines.

The pre-match scenario:

The Black & Yellows travelled to Wuppertal placed 5th in the table and with the wind in their sails after back-to-back wins. WSV, fresh off the back of a victory over Bonner SC, went into the match sitting comfortably mid-table in 8th place.   

Personnel matters:

Alen Terzic made two changes to the side that faced SV Straelen, with Tim Sechelmann and Julian Schwermann coming into the starting line-up to replace Leonardo Balerdi and Dominik Wanner. After 967 long days on the sidelines, Dario Scuderio made his return to a BVB matchday squad. The young right-back suffered a severe knee injury during a UEFA Youth League encounter with Legia Warsaw back in September 2016. 32 months later, although sat on the bench for the full 90 minutes, the returnee was delighted to be involved once more: ''It was a special evening for me after such a long time out. For a long time I had no idea what was going to happen. To be able to get back into the squad now is unbelievable. I'm just so happy. I've trained a lot and I'm chuffed that I made it into the squad today,'' said the 21-year-old after the match. 

The first half:

BVB needed a quarter of an hour or so to adjust to the challenging pitch conditions. With 16 minutes on the clock, the first attack of real note ended up in the back of the Wuppertal net. Taylan Duman stroked a pass out to wide-forward Joseph Boyamba, who made the finish look easy as he fired home from 16 metres out. Two minutes after BVB took the lead, Wuppertal saw their first real goal-scoring opportunity of the match, with Eric Oelschlägel in the Dortmund goal doing very well to deny Kevin Hagemann.

Half an hour in, Borussia had a gilt-edged chance to make it 2-0. Herbert Bockhorn cut inside from the left-wing and unleashed a bending effort which cannoned back off the right-hand post. The ball rebounded into a dangerous area, but a Wuppertal defender was able to clear his lines. The home side were unable to impose themselves on the ball for any sustained period of time in the opposition half and were restricted mainly to long-range efforts which posed little problem for the Dortmund rearguard. 

Six minutes before the end of the half, Oelschlägel was the hero once more as he again came out on top in a one-on-one situation. This time it was Semir Saric's turn to fail to beat the Dortmund keeper when played in on goal. WSV had grown into the game but were unable to find an equaliser in what remained of the first period. As it was, BVB went into the dressing room 1-0 up on the scoreboard. 

The second half:

BVB coach Alen Terzic chose to make one adjustment at half-time: off came Hüseyin Bulut and on came Philipp Hanke in his place. In the 51st minute, Mory Konate scored the second goal of the match with the first attack of the second half. The defensive midfielder was played in by a neat pass from Gianluca Rizzo and ultimately made no mistake in slotting home from 11 metres out.

On the hour mark, BVB had a glorious opportunity to put the result beyond any doubt. Unfortunately, Joseph Boyamba was unable to get the better of goalkeeper Niklas Lübcke, with his effort from the rebound crashing off the bar. Down the other end, a heroic goal-line clearance from Julian Schwermann was required to prevent Enes Topal from pulling one back for Wuppertal. Shortly afterwards, in the 69th minute, the substitute Dominik Wanner wrapped things up for the visitors when he finished off a counter-attack with a tidy left-footed effort from the edge of the box. In what remained of the match, BVB were assured in possession and stingy in defence. Wuppertal's best period of play had been towards the end of the first half and in what remained of the match they were unable to pose much of a threat offensively. 

Here's what BVB coach Alen Terzic had to say: 

''Wuppertal asked questions of us all the way to the end. It was a really tough and intense encounter. I'm happy that we won the game 3-0. We had the momentum on our side today, we defended strongly and played with intelligence. Congratulations to my players, who have done a really excellent job in the past few weeks.''

What's next:

The U23s are next in action on Saturday, when they travel to face their counterparts at Borussia Mönchengladbach. Kick-off is scheduled for 14:00 CET at the Grenzlandstadion in Mönchengladbach-Rheydt.

BVB U23: Oelschlägel – Kilian, Rente, Schwermann, Sechelmann, – Konate (80. Baxmann), Bulut (46. Hanke), Duman (66. Wanner) – Boyamba, Rizzo, Bockhorn 

Goals: 0-1 Boyamba (16.), 0-2 Konate (51.), 0-3 Wanner (69.)