Borussia Dortmund's U23s and RW Ahlen shared the spoils in 1-1 draw on Saturday afternoon. Tobi Raschl scored the opener for BVB in a sometimes-wild game that was suspended for around 25 minutes midway through the first half due to a storm.

The scenario: It was a match-up between teams at opposite ends of the table: BVB, who were top of the Regionalliga West, were in really good form and had taken 60 points from 25 matches, while hosts RW Ahlen sat at the foot of the table and needed every point in their fight to beat the drop.

Personnel matters: BVB coach Enrico Maaßen was able to welcome several players back into the squad. Alaa Bakir returned to the starting XI following his suspension, while captain Steffen Tigges was back with the U23s. Dominik Wanner was available to play again too but initially started among the substitutes. Patrick Osterhage, Moritz Broschinski and Taylan Duman were still unavailable due to injuries. Franz Pfanne was booked for the fifth time this term against Wegberg-Beeck and so had to sit this one out.

The match & analysis: The Black & Yellows immediately dominated proceedings on the difficult surface. Alaa Bakir and Ansgar Knauff had an early opportunity to open the scoring following a mix-up in the Ahlen rearguard. But the rain began to hammer down over the Wersestadion around the five-minute mark. The pitch grew soggier and the players increasingly struggled to keep their balance. Richmond Tachie had the next chance for BVB after 11 minutes, but an Ahlen player successfully intervened and turned the ball behind for a corner. Dortmund maintained their attacking pressure, but Ahlen also tried to cause problems going forward themselves. The referee interrupted the game on the 25-minute mark, the constant rain and a strong storm making it impossible for play to continue. The storm cleared around 25 minutes later and the two teams returned from the changing rooms.

The game continued to be more or less one-way traffic even after the disruption. Ansgar Knauff went close from a centre-left position after 32 minutes. Both teams were struggling with the pitch conditions, which made it more or less impossible to construct attacks. Lots of long balls and hopeful set-pieces appeared to be the most promising route to goal. The score remained goalless until the break. Kolbeinn Finnsson came on at the interval, replacing Alaa Bakir. BVB stepped up their attacking intent, but moments of danger in front of goal remained few and far between. The best opportunity fell to Steffen Tigges around the hour-mark, though his effort from the edge of the penalty area sailed centimetres over the frame of the goal. Tobi Raschl went one better seconds later, however. He was left with a simple tap-in after being teed up by Ansgar Knauff and the duo celebrated the all-important opening goal together.

The lead did not last long, though, with Sebastian Mai restoring parity for the home side in the 68th minute. BVB continued to apply pressure in a bid to force the second goal. Enrico Maaßen brought on fresh legs in the form of Aday Ercan, Dominik Wanner and Henri Weigelt to set up a frenetic finish. But it was Ahlen who had a huge opportunity to claim a winner in the 87th minute, Sebastian Mai firing wide of the back post by a matter of centimetres. Kolbeinn Finnsson found himself in a similar position moments later but he too failed to score. The last few minutes were wild, with BVB risking everything, and both teams looked absolutely dead on their feet. Neither side was able to create any further opportunities and so in the end the match finished 1-1. BVB continue to top the table, helped by the fact that RW Essen lost away to Preußen Münster.

The match reactions:

Enrico Maaßen: "We had a lot of opportunities and should've killed the game earlier. After going 1-0 up, we actually had everything under control. But all in all, you can't make an assessment of the football today given the difficult surface. We drew 1-1. That's frustrating but we go on. The next match is against Essen. There we'll have to try to pick up our next three points."

Steffen Tigges: "It obviously wasn't easy today with these pitch conditions. I think there were two or three chances in the first half that we didn't take. We then deservedly made it 1-0 and then needed to defend intelligently. Given the conditions, we have to accept the 1-1. We go again on Wednesday."

Niklas Dams: "We were on the right track after taking the lead. We didn't give much away beforehand. We have to live with the point, but given that Essen lost, we can look at this matchday as a point gained."

Outlook: The Black & Yellows are off to Essen for a top-of-the-table clash on Wednesday. Kick-off at the Hafenstraße will be at 19:30 CET.

Team & goals

BVB U23s: Unbehaun, Maloney, Hippe, Hober (Ercan, 68), Bakir (Finnsson, 46), Tachie, Tigges, Krebs (Weigelt, 83), Dams, Knauff (Wanner, 79), Raschl

Goals: 0-1 Raschl (61), 1-1 Mai (69)