The Borussia Dortmund U23s have one league fixture to go before competitive action pauses for a fortnight. That match will be on Friday night (19:30 CET), when the Black & Yellows take on Wuppertaler SV at Stadion am Zoo on Matchday 3 of the Regionalliga West season.

Head coach Mike Tullberg has had more than just last weekend's victory over Lotte to celebrate this week. Since then, the 33-year-old has taken – and, of course, passed – his football coaching exams in his native Denmark. Many congratulations on your achievement, Maik!

As a result, it was the captain Joseph Boyamba rather than the head coach with whom we spoke about the upcoming opposition. But before looking ahead, the 23-year-old reflected on the Lotte game once again. "It was obviously great that the first team had their season opening event at the same time on Sunday. That meant several supporters found their way into Stadium Rote Erde, which obviously gave us a push. We did okay in the first period, but then we improved in the second half. I think that at that point you could see what the coach asks of us and the way we like to play football. Of course, we could've put the game to bed earlier."

Wuppertaler SV have only played one league fixture to date, beating Alemannia Aachen 2-1 on 27 July. Last week, however, the Blue & Reds reached the next round of the Verbandspokal, a regional cup competition, thanks to a 3-1 victory over Krefeld-Fischeln. That means it will be an unbeaten WSV side that faces the Black & Yellows on Friday. Former BVB striker Beyhan Ametov will be playing for the hosts, the junior international having made the switch from the Ruhr to the Wupper over the summer. BVB captain Joseph Boyamba is expecting an exciting game on Friday: "We're prepared ourselves very well throughout the week. We know where our strengths are, namely set-pieces. What we need to do is to repeat our second-half performance against Lotte in the match tomorrow."

The young defender is fully embracing the responsibilities that come with the captaincy, a role that fills him with pride: "I feel honoured to be the captain of the second team at such a huge club. I can offer the team a lot, because I've already amassed a lot of experience in the Regionalliga. It's a big deal for me, I'll try to be there for the team – whether it's on or off the pitch." They are big words from a big player, who has demonstrated in the past what has to offer on both a sporting and human level. As for Friday evening, Boyamba had one final word: "I'm looking forward to tomorrow, as are the lads of course. We want to try to pick up the next three points."