First defeat in the second game. The Borussia Dortmund women's football team lost their second friendly match 0-1 (0-0) against Eintracht Solingen. Nevertheless, the Dortmund women could leave the pitch in Solingen with their heads held high. The hosts will be challenging for the title in the Niederrhein-Liga, comparable to the Westfalenliga, meaning they play three tiers higher than BVB, who are currently in the Kreisliga.

"Overall, I am satisfied with the performance, but of course not with the result. We deserved something out of the game – a draw would have been absolutely fine," said BVB coach Thomas Sulewski after the match played in hot summer temperatures in the Bergisches Land region. A week ago, BVB won their first game of the season at the Stadion Rote Erde, beating TSV 1860 Munich 3-1.

Sulewski did not want to be too hard on his team because of the defeat. And why would he? Because what the coach had seen on Sunday afternoon was thoroughly respectable. And they were able to put in that performance despite the fact that the newly assembled side have only been training together for three weeks. They had battled well in duels and showed good fighting spirit. The fact that there were also some errors was pretty normal given the extremely short preparation time, Sulewski said: "Overall, however, it was a solid team performance."

Sulewski: "I want all the girls to play"

In a game with relatively few clear goalscoring opportunities, the Dortmund coach had to make two changes before the break. In the 35th minute, goalkeeper Stefanie Scheibe had to leave the pitch with a thigh injury and was replaced by Sandra Schröer. Just ten minutes earlier, Annika Fälker had to go off when she felt pain in her calf, so Vanessa Heim came on to replace her.

It was to be expected and understandable that BVB would have a difficult time against the hosts, who play three tiers higher. Especially since Thomas Sulewski's side came out after the break with six changes: "I want all the girls to play, that's why I was constantly making substitutions."

After an even first half, Solingen had the first big chance on 47 minutes, but BVB goalkeeper Sandra Schröer dealt with a dangerous cross well. 15 minutes before the final whistle, Borussia's Laura Höhl had the chance to make it 1-0, but failed in a one-on-one with the Solingen keeper. "If Laura had laid it off, it would have given us the lead," Thomas Sulewski commented on the situation. Instead, BVB had to deal with going 0-1 down just eight minutes later. After a misunderstanding between the two central defenders Lilli Verena Prinzen and Ana-Louisa Zabell, Solingen took advantage of the opportunity and shot from close range, giving goalkeeper Sandra Schröer no chance to make it 1-0.

The BVB women's next game is on Wednesday. They will face fellow Kreisliga side VfL Kamen in their third friendly match. Kick-off is at 19:30 CET.

BVB: Stefanie Scheibe (Sandra Schröer, 35) – Lisa Klemann, Marina Jung, Ana-Louisa Zabell, Allegra Gerres, Lea Rogge-Herper, Luisa Bergmann, Anika Billig, Ann-Kathrin Lau, Hannah Goosmann, Lilli Verena Prinzen, Denise Pörteners, Kimberly Becker, Carolin Marie Kaul, Laura Höhl, Annika Herbig, Annika Fälker (Vanessa Heim, 23), Virginia Glänzer