Despite taking a 3-0 lead through Dominik Wanner, Tobi Raschl and Albin Thaqi, the Borussia Dortmund U23s had to settle for a 3-3 draw against their FC Schalke 04 counterparts on Saturday afternoon. The visitors scored their equaliser from the penalty spot in second-half stoppage time.

The scenario: League leaders Borussia Dortmund welcomed 10th-placed Schalke to Adi-Preißler-Allee. The visitors from Gelsenkirchen were in a comfortable position in mid-table, with 47 points on the board.

Personnel: BVB coach Enrico Maaßen made one change to the starting XI that had won in Oberhausen in the previous round, with Ansgar Knauff replacing Felix Passlack on the right flank. 

The match & analysis: The Black & Yellows made a flying start. With eight minutes on the clock, an underhit backpass was played to the opposition goalkeeper. Dominik Wanner sensed an opportunity, chased him down and made it 1-0. Goalkeeper Sören Ahlers fired the ball straight at the left-winger and it rebounded off him and into the Schalke net from five metres out. BVB dominated proceedings, repeatedly getting into dangerous positions in and around the Schalke box. Home shot-stopper Luca Unbehaun had nothing to do until the 27th minute, when Jan-Luca Schuler went clean through on goal. But he came out on top in the one-on-one and saved the shot from 10 metres.

A short while later, some carelessness in Schalke's defensive ranks presented BVB with another opportunity. After a corner-kick, Niklas Dams was carrying the ball out of the box when he was fouled on the edge of the area – penalty for BVB. Tobi Raschl stepped up and converted the resultant spot-kick on the half-hour mark to make it 2-0. Dortmund did not lower the tempo and instead sought a third goal. And it followed only five minutes after the second, with the youngest BVB player on the pitch making it 3-0. Albin Thaqi, still an U19 player, scored the third goal of the day as his side were again rewarded for their energetic display. It was one chance after another towards the end of the first half. The visitors countered only two minutes later to pull it back to 3-1, and the referee sounded his whistle a short while later.

The second half got off to a disjointed start, with both teams losing possession several times and struggling to construct attacks. Schalke's second goal on the hour mark came more or less out of nothing. Marouane Balouk's shot from 16 metres out took an unstoppable deflection that carried it past Luca Unbehaun. The visitors now had more of the game and BVB could hardly free themselves from the pressure. It became a wild affair, with both sides playing lots of long balls. In the closing stages, BVB squandered two counter-attacks that could have decided the game and were then pegged back to 3-3 in stoppage time. The ball hit Tobi Raschl's hand following a corner kick and the referee pointed to the spot, with Balouk comfortably slotting home. The full-time whistle went with the score 3-3. The Black & Yellows are now seven points clear of second place, having played a game more. 

Outlook: The U23s have a fixture-free week ahead. Their next match will take place in Rödinghausen on 8 May. Kick-off in East Westphalia will be at 14:00 CET.

Team & goals

BVB U23s: Unbehaun - Maloney, Bakir, Tachie (Makreckis, 68), Thaqi, Pfanne, Krebs (Ercan, 78), Dams, Knauff (Finnsson, 74), Raschl, Wanner (Bah-Traoré, 63)

Goals: 1-0 Wanner (8), 2-0 Raschl (pen., 30), 3-0 Thaqi (35), 3-1 Schuler (37), 3-2 Balouk (60), 3-3 Balouk (pen., 90)