The 349 spectators at the Rote Erde Stadium saw the Borussia Dortmund U23s claim a deserved 4-0 home win over a poor Haltern side courtesy of goals from Steffen Tigges, Taylan Duman, Chris Führich and Joseph Boyamba.

The pre-match scenario: BVB had made an unbeaten start to 2020, beating Wuppertal in their first game before drawing 3-3 away to Alemannia Aachen last time out. A win in this one would see them rise to fifth place in the table.

The personnel: Mike Tullberg made three changes to the side that started against Aachen, with Eric Oelschlägel, Taylan Duman and Maximilian Hippe replacing Luca Unbehaun (match for the U19s), Julian Schwermann (injured) and Mateu Morey (senior squad).

The match: The second home game of the year got off to a lively start with plenty of attacking play. Haltern went close with a double chance in the opening minutes, and then Eric Oelschlägel conceded a fifth-minute penalty for a challenge that was deemed to be excessive by referee Koj. Fortunately, the Dortmund shot-stopper was able to atone for his error by saving Oerterer's poorly placed spot-kick. Spurred on by the save, the Black & Yellows began to attack in a courageous and structured manner. Chris Führich played in Steffen Tigges, whose shot from close range in a centre-left position opened the scoring for the hosts. It was Tigges' ninth goal of the season.

With a quarter of an hour gone, the two protagonists of the first goal almost combined to double the advantage. This time, Tigges turned provider and teed up Führich but his effort from 10 metres went narrowly wide. BVB had greater luck with another move only a few seconds later, however, with Taylan Duman latching onto a pass from Kolbeinn Finnsson and beating Rafael Hester from 11 metres out. Barely 120 seconds later, the third goal followed. Tobi Raschl sent wing wizard Führich on his way and he rounded Hester before tapping into an empty net. The visitors had barely ventured out of their own half and the hosts might have led by more than three goals at the interval.

Both teams started the second period in considerably more physical fashion than they had the first. Haltern were getting stuck into the challenges and making life a lot more difficult for BVB, who themselves had dropped down a gear or two and allowed their visitors to have a much greater foothold in the game compared to the first half. BVB coach Mike Tullberg made his first substitution on the 75-minute mark. Dominik Wanner replaced Taylan Duman, who had produced a solid performance in central midfield. The next change came when Raschl was withdrawn for Steve Tunga two minutes later. A short while later, with 82 minutes played, it was Boyamba's turn to get in on the act. The move started with excellent link-up play between Führich and Finnsson before the captain finished it off from close range.

Outlook: The U23s are next in Regionalliga action on Friday (19:00 CET) when they visit Fortuna Düsseldorf II.

BVB U23s: Oelschlägel – Hippe, Rente, Bünning, Finnsson – Duman (Wanner, 73), Raschl (Tunga, 75), Hober (Et, 88) – Boyamba (Rizzo, 84), Tigges, Führich

Goals: 1-0 Tigges (10), 2-0 Duman (22), 3-0 Führich (24), 4-0 Boyamba (82)

Notable incidents: Oelschlägel saves penalty from Oerterer (6)