Borussia Dortmund's U23s continued to impress with their electric and effective brand of attacking football as they beat promoted SV Straelen 5-1 (1-0). Taylan Duman, Tobias Raschl, Niklas Dams, Richmond Tachie and Steffen Tigges got the goals for BVB.

The scenario: Coach Benedict Weeks' side, who are based close to the Dutch border, travelled to the Ruhr on the back of two successive wins, having beaten Bonner SC and Wuppertaler 1-0 and 3-0 respectively in the space of a week. They had made a stuttering start to the season but are now on the up and occupy 13th place in the table after losing only two of their last 10 matches. BVB, meanwhile, remain in second place.

Personnel: BVB coach Enrico Maaßen made only one switch to the team that beat Bergisch Gladbach, with Luca Unbehaun replacing Stefan Drljaca in goal.

The match & analysis: At the outset, the visitors stayed compact at the back and waited for counter-attacking opportunities. The Black & Yellows attacked with purpose and had their first sight of goal following a short corner, although Ansgar Knauff's shot flew just wide of the upright. BVB were the superior side and created their best chance to open the scoring so far in the 18th minute of the match. Taylan Duman was first denied by Robin Udegbe from a narrow angle, before Franz Pfanne and Ansgar Knauff both failed to put the ball in the back of the net on the follow-up. Once again, the visiting shot-stopper managed to make the saves and keep the game goalless.

The pressure continued to increase and only a few moments after the triple chance, Knauff went close after playing a one-two with Tobi Raschl. BVB had further chances, but Steffen Tigges' attempt from a tight angle was thwarted by Udegbe (27). Tobi Raschl and Ansgar Knauff then attempted a back-flick and a bicycle kick in the 28th and 29th minutes respectively. "Finish it off, finish it off," bellowed coach Maaßen from the sidelines. Straelen could scarcely manage to get the ball out of their own half and it was only a matter of time until BVB opened the scoring. BVB were forced into making their first change on the 35-minute mark when Henri Weigelt, who had only just come back from injury, was forced off with another injury. Maximilian Hippe came on in the centre-back's stead. BVB's reward for a decent first half came five minutes before the interval when they were awarded a penalty for a foul on Steffen Tigges. Taylan Duman stepped up to take the resultant spot-kick and scored his ninth goal of the season.

BVB made as bright a start to the second half as they had to the first. Only a few seconds had passed when Taylan Duman whipped in a free-kick and Franz Pfanne launched himself at the ball. It could've been the second goal of the day. But Tobias Raschl found the net a few minutes later, prodding the ball over the line after being teed up by Richmond Tachie. The element that BVB had been lacking in their play in the first half was rectified in the second 45 minutes. Only nine minutes after having taken a 2-0 lead, Niklas Dams added a third goal from a corner-kick. The Black & Yellows had started to take their chances, and all the signs pointed to a victory by the time the hour-mark rolled around.

The visitors mostly only threatened from set-pieces and they did pull a goal back through one such dead ball in the 72nd minute, the veteran Adli Lachheb heading home a corner to reduce the deficit to 3-1. Enrico Maaßen was forced into making another injury-induced substitution with a quarter of an hour remaining, with Kolbeinn Finnsson replacing Lennard Maloney. While BVB looked to add a fourth goal, Straelen threw everything forward in the hope they might still be able to rescue a point. But the Black & Yellows put the game to bed in the 81st minute when Marco Hober played a lovely diagonal pass to Steffen Tigges, who set up Richmond Tachie for a simple header from close range. Steffen Tigges added a fifth goal in the 83rd minute to make it 5-1 and complete the rout.

Outlook: The action continues again on Wednesday when RW Oberhausen visit Brackel at 18:00 CET.

The match reactions:

Steffen Tigges: "The opposition were better than the final result might suggest. They made our lives really difficult. It took a long time before we managed to get our foot in the door. The goals that made it 1-0 and 2-0 before and after the break then gaves us security. There was a bit of unease after they made it 3-1, but all in all it was a really good performance from the team. This team and fighting spirit is the key element to our current success."

Niklas Dams: "If we can win set-pieces and know how to convert them into goals, that's very valuable. By doing so, you can force your opponents into abandoning their tactics a bit which then gives you room that you can then play in. The penalty was the catalyst today; that was important for us. Straelen made it very difficult for us today."

Team & goals

BVB U23s: Unbehaun, Maloney (Finnsson, 76), Weigelt (Hippe, 35), Dams, Duman, Knauff (Wanner, 66), Pfanne, Hober, Tachie, Raschl (Bakir, 66), Tigges

Goals: 1-0 Duman (40, pen.), 2-0 Raschl (51), 3-0 Dams (60), 3-1 Lachheb (72), 4-1 Tachie (81), 5-1 Tigges (83)