Borussia's U19s have beaten FC Schalke 04 2-1 in their rescheduled Bundesliga West derby clash, cementing their hold on pole position, extending their lead over the Gelsenkirchen outfit to 12 points and putting themselves in the best-possible position to win the West German title for the third time in a row.

Paris Brunner and Kjell Wätjen scored the goals for a clinical BVB in a highly intense match that remained exciting until the final whistle. In the closing stages, Schalke failed to score from the penalty spot thanks to a brilliant reaction save by Robin Lisewski before regaining hope thanks to an equaliser. But Dortmund, who fought brilliantly, did not give anything more away and later celebrated exuberantly on the Parkstadion pitch.

"It was a hard-fought and somewhat fortunate victory against a very unpleasant and strong Schalke team," said Mike Tullberg in summary, before praising Robin Lisewski: "He held on to the win for us. That was an outstanding goalkeeping performance."

Both teams quickly settled into their stride despite the unfavourable weather conditions. The opening phase belonged to the hosts, who got off to a storming start. Borussia's new-look defence – captain Filippo Mane and injured second centre-back Leonardo Posadas were missing, as was right-back William Rashidi – found themselves under pressure to begin with. The team defended with great commitment and also had a safe pair of hands behind them in Robin Lisewski. The BVB custodian was first called into action in the ninth minute after Tristan Osmani had gotten the better of Tyler Meiser, but he could not beat Lisewski.

It took some time before the Borussia players seized the initiative themselves and pushed the back four of Jaden Korzynietz, Tyler Meiser, Nico Adamczyk and Almugera Kabar forward in a bid to showcase their footballing qualities. The first constructive attack brought about the opening goal: Danylo Krevsun, who once again covered a lot of ground, played the ball into the path of Cole Campbell. His cross found Paris Brunner, who skilfully slotted the ball home to make it 1-0.

Robin Lisewski saves another penalty

Schalke were unperturbed by the deficit and continued to play towards the BVB penalty area with courage. But captain Kjell Wätjen and his team-mates worked hard and only allowed their opponents a few opportunities. Nonetheless, Robin Lisewski once again had to show all his class to keep out a header from Nedzhib Hadzha in the 40th minute. At the other end, Cole Campbell had the chance to increase the lead to 2-0 but saw his effort thwarted by goalkeeper Luca Podlech.

Whenever the Black & Yellows found footballing solutions, Schalke's defence struggled. They were increasingly successful in the second half. One such instance came in the 62nd minute, when Vincenzo Onofrietti cleverly passed the ball to Kjell Wätjen. The outstanding BVB captain left Podlech no chance of keeping it out and scored his seventh goal of the season to make it 2-0. "I really liked the first half-hour of the second half," praised Mike Tullberg.

But Schalke showed spirit, rallied themselves – and found fresh hope after making personnel changes. Former Dortmund player Bruno Numbisie, who entered the fray after just over an hour, made a big impact on the right flank. When Almugera Kabar brought him down with a foul just outside the penalty area, referee Niklas Simpson awarded a penalty (72). But just like last Sunday in the 4-1 win in Cologne, Robin Lisewski saved the spot-kick taken by Bilal Brusdeilins. Schalke still managed to level terms through Edion Gashi (76), but it was not enough against a passionately combative Dortmund side. "After this show of strength, the lads can look forward to two days' rest and recuperation, then it continues," said Mike Tullberg, already looking ahead.

BVB will play host to Arminia Bielefeld in the Bundesliga on Sunday (kick-off 11:00 CET).

BVB: Lisewski – Korzynietz, Meiser, Adamczyk, Kabar (Rashidi, 73) – Lubach, Wätjen –  Onofrietti (Ubani, 65), Krevsun, Campbell (Benkara, 83) - Brunner.

(wiwi)