After Rot-Weiss Essen's cup tie on Tuesday evening, the pitch at Stadion Essen was declared to be unplayable. That means the Borussia Dortmund U23s will not be able to build on their remarkable run of four wins in a row; their top-of-the-table clash away to RW Essen on Saturday has been cancelled.

This is the sixth time that coach Enrico Maaßen's league leaders have seen one of their games postponed in the current campaign. "We would've very much liked to play, but we have to accept it," said Ingo Preuß, the sporting director of the U23s, of the cancellation on Thursday lunchtime.