Match Report
Hettwer fires U23s to victory in Verl
Scenario: Borussia Dortmund's U23s have frequently demonstrated their qualities against opponents from the upper third of the table this season. At the weekend against Ingolstadt, Dortmund narrowly missed out on a win due to a late goal (3-3), but now they were hoping to finally snap their run of six games without a win with three points away to Verl. Their hosts have been the surprise team in the third tier this season: with five wins from their last six games, SC are in contention for promotion and had something to make up for after their 3-1 defeat in the reverse fixture.
Personnel matters: Coach Jan Zimmermann made three changes compared to the weekend: Marcel Lotka, Julien Duranville and Kjell Wätjen travelled to Barcelona with the first team. Silas Ostrzinski, Danylo Krevsun and Antonio Foti moved into the starting line-up in their place.
The match: Both teams pushed hard to score early on. BVB had a slice of good fortune when, following a long throw-in towards the area by Verl, the ball zipped past all the players in Borussia's box. Dortmund's pressing paid dividends when Niklas Jessen blocked a pass from the hosts and the ball deflected towards Michael Eberwein in the penalty area. The veteran reacted with lightning speed to shoot first-time, but Verl goalkeeper Philipp Schulze made a brilliant save.
Jan Zimmermann was forced to make his first substitution in the 22nd minute: Striker Jordi Paulina had to come off due to a thigh injury and was replaced by Rodney Elongo-Yombo. Other than that, very little happened in the Sportclub Arena, where the 2,515 spectators witnessed a rather dull first half. There were repeated minor fouls on both sides, meaning there was no real flow to the game. The most dramatic moment came from an underplayed backpass from Verl, which was intercepted by Michael Eberwein. However, the defenders got back quickly to block his shot at the last moment. Otherwise, most of the game took place in midfield, with Borussia concentrating on keeping a compact shape against the fancied Verl side. Consequently, the teams went in at the break with the score stuck at 0-0.
Not long after the restart (50), Verl's Patrick Kammerbauer lofted a long ball forward towards striker Lars Lokotsch. He took the ball down and fired on goal, but there wasn't enough venom on the shot to trouble Silas Ostrzinski. At the start of the second half, the home team were in the driving seat, the pressure on Borussia grew by the minute as Verl pushed for the lead. In response to his team's offensive struggles, BVB coach Jan Zimmermann brought on his top scorer Julian Hettwer and Patrick Göbel to replace Danylo Krevsun and Antonio Foti.
The coach proved to have a golden touch: just three minutes after coming on, Hettwer finished off a cross from Eberwein at the far post to make it 1-0 for BVB in the 60th minute. Verl refused to let their heads drop and looked for a quick response. They almost equalised when Niko Kijewski's header from a corner hit the crossbar. While the hosts pressed, Borussia now looked to counter into the open spaces, but just lacked the necessary decisiveness at the key moments.
20 minutes before the end, the ball fell at the feet of Elongo-Yombo from a Dortmund corner. He shot on goal from a tight angle and was unfortunate to be denied by the woodwork. Other than this, the visitors from Dortmund were only preoccupied with defending their goal. Time and again, SC were forced to shoot from distance, but Silas Ostrzinski rarely had to make a save. Borussia defended with everything they had and in the end it was enough to secure an important away win. The win lifted BVB to 14th place in the table and increased the gap to the relegation places to three points.
Jan Zimmermann: "In recent weeks, we haven't won games in which we were better. If you look at the game today with all the statistics, we were inferior and won because we defended with a lot of conviction and concentration. In the end, the one goal was enough for us. It's certainly a bit fortunate, but of course we don't care in this current situation."
Outlook: To round off the English week, Borussia will host Energie Cottbus, another top team in the league, on Sunday (16:30 CEST). With just six games still to play and a lot still at stake for both teams, an intense match is on the cards at the Rote Erde.
Goals: 0-1 Hettwer (60)
U23s: Ostrzinski – Lelle, Lührs, Hüning, Jessen (87, Mogultay) – Krevsun (57, Göbel), Roggow, Reitz – Foti (57, Hettwer), Paulina (22, Elongo-Yombo/87, Drakas), Eberwein