The approximately 7,200 fans at the Bremer Brücke were treated to plenty of action on Wednesday evening. VfL Osnabrück managed to secure victory in a tight game that finished 2-1 (1-0), but Borussia Dortmund's U23s were close to earning a point. Berkan Taz had struck an equaliser for the Black and Yellows to make it 1-1.

Before the game: "Floodlights, Bremer Brücke – that's a great experience. Anyone who has been there before can testify that it is something special when there are more than 7,000 spectators there. I will be meeting some old friends and acquaintances with whom I spent very good and successful times. I'm really looking forward to it." That is what BVB striker Steffen Tigges said before the match.

The opposition: VfL had started the season with four points from four games. Victory in the opening match against Saarbrücken was followed by two defeats against Wiesbaden and Duisburg. Last weekend, coach Daniel Scherning's team drew 1-1 away against Würzburger Kickers. 

Personnel: BVB coach Enrico Maaßen made just one change to the starting eleven from the Saarbrücken game on Saturday. Berkan Taz replaced Antonios Papadopoulos, so Franz Pfanne moved back into the three-man defence.

The match: Both teams made it clear in the very first minutes of the match how offensively they intended to approach the game. BVB put pressure on VfL early in their own half. Osnabrück worked in a similar way in front of the Dortmund goal. Yet it took until the 13th minute before the first big chance in front of the BVB goal. VfL captain Marc Heider had won the ball ahead of Luca Unbehaun in Dortmund's goal and with the first chance of the game he was able to score the opener for the purple and whites.

The first significant BVB opportunity came in the 21st minute, when Steffen Tigges fired narrowly past the left post from a tight angle. After the initial attacking energy expended in the first few minutes, the game settled down in the middle of the first half. The Bremer Brücke stadium then erupted after less than half an hour when a deflected Pherai shot rattled the bar.

At the end of the first 45 minutes, the Black and Yellows had managed slightly more possession, but the final pass was not yet how Maaßen's team had intended. BVB then had their best chance to find an equaliser on 40 minutes. After a foul on Richmond Tachie, Tobi Raschl stepped up to take the penalty, but goalkeeper Philipp Kühn chose the right corner and was able to make the save.  The scoreline remained 1-0 to Osnabrück.

Both teams took to the pitch for the second half unchanged. BVB dominated the game, enjoying more possession, and were rewarded with the equaliser in the 53rd minute. Berkan Taz had pounced on an Osnabrück error and fired the ball into the bottom right corner of the goal from the inside-left.

After less than an hour, BVB were forced into a first change. Franz Pfanne tried to keep playing after a tough challenge, but had to be replaced by Kolbeinn Finnsson after 58 minutes. Borussia were pressing to take the lead, but Osnabrück waited patiently to pounce on any mistakes from Dortmund and increasingly attempted shots from distance. 

Twenty minutes before the end of the match, Lennard Maloney committed a foul on the edge of the penalty area. The referee deemed it to be denying a clear goalscoring opportunity and showed the Dortmund defender the red card. Sven Köhler struck the crossbar from the subsequent free kick. Maaßen responded, bringing on two defensive players in Haymenn Bah-Traore and Abdoulaye Kamara.

VfL made the most of their numerical advantage and took the lead at 2-1 on 74 minutes through substitute Lukas Kunze. But then it was VfL who brought BVB back into the game. Ulrich Taffertshofer saw red after a second yellow card and also had to leave the pitch. The ten men battled it out for the last 12 minutes, but VfL carried their narrow lead over the finish line.

For the Black and Yellows, after four games unbeaten, it is the first defeat in the 3. Liga this season.  

BVB U23s: Unbehaun – Maloney, Pasalic (Makreckis, 87), Taz (Bah-Traore, 72), Tachie (Kamara, 72), Tigges, Pfanne (Finnsson, 58), Pherai, Dams, Knauff (Pohlmann, 87), Raschl

Goals: 1-0 Heider (13), 1-1 Taz (53), 2-1 Kunze (74)

Incidents of note: Raschl missed pen – saved by Kühn (40), Maloney red card for denying a clear goalscoring opportunity (69), Taffertshofer red card for two bookable offences – persistent foul play (78)

Outlook: Next Sunday, we will play host to local rivals MSV Duisburg at the Rote Erde. Kick-off is 13:00 CET.