U17s move to top of the table thanks to 4-1 win

The Borussia Dortmund U17s moved to the top of the table in DFB-Nachwuchsliga main round Group A courtesy of a 4-1 victory over Union Berlin. VfL Wolfsburg, who won 3-0 against Borussia Mönchengladbach, are level on points in second place.

Karsten Gorges' boys seamlessly followed on from their good performance in the opening game (a 2-1 victory against Bochum). They only briefly came under pressure after Union pulled a goal back to make it 2-1 in the 77th minute. Enzo Duarte dos Santos, the new signing from Luxembourg, killed off any faint hopes the visitors may have had of snatching a point with a spectacular free-kick (86). Diego Branco then completed the scoring (90+4). "We can be satisfied. A game like this can turn quickly, but we defended very well on the whole and hardly allowed the opponents any chances," Karsten Gorges said.

Union were without goal-getter Oskar Engel, while BVB were without their captain Julian Driedger (pulled muscle) and keeper Jan-Mattis Wehrbein (special leave). Miguel Adje lined up at left-back and Julien Froese played in goal. Otherwise, Gorges relied on the team that had proven itself against Bochum. Regulars Niklas König and Diego Branco started the game on the bench but helped their team to secure an important three points in the closing stages.

As expected, the boys from the capital proved to be an unpleasant and tough-tackling opponent that tried to take Borussia's fun and fluidity away. They succeeded until the 17th minute, when central defender Jan-Luca Riedl scored via a perfect volley from Tom Faust's pinpoint free-kick to make it 1-0. BVB played with tactical discipline in the period that followed and only came under threat once when Julien Froese dropped the ball but then immediately atoned for his error (28).

Karsten Gorges: "It was not an easy game"

"It wasn't easy against this very compact opponent," said Karsten Gorges, adding: "I have to take my hat off to the team for finding footballing solutions time and again, despite the difficult playing surface." One such example came in the 44th minute, when Fadi Zarqelain first outpaced Union's Pepe Kischke and Tim Stuff before leaving goalkeeper Fritz Gagzow with no chance with a well-placed low strike. After that, Zarqelain (47) and Jemain Kusi (66) squandered notable opportunities to extend the lead.

At the other end, Union took advantage of one of Dortmund's few lapses to restore parity through substitute Francesco Matjani (77). But BVB quickly ensured they were back on the path to victory. Enzo Duarte dos Santos curled a free-kick that had been won by the outstanding Riedl into the back of the net (86), before Diego Branco then capitalised on blatant defensive errors by Union to round off the scoring at 4-1.

BVB will visit VfL Wolfsburg in the top match on Wednesday (16:00 CET) and Borussia Mönchengladbach on Sunday (11:00 CET).

U17s: Froese – Kolano (König, 66), Riedl, Ritter, Adje – Fahrenhorst – Mirza (Heavens, 89), Faust (Ogoke, 89), Duarte dos Santos , Zarqelain (Mize, 66)– Kusi (Branco, 66).

(wiwi)