The U23s went into their match against fourth placed RW Oberhausen on Saturday afternoon with the aim of getting a new winning streak going. Thanks to goals from Herbert Bockhorn and Evangelos Pavlidis, BVB defeated what ultimately proved to be innocuous visitors 2-1. The win will boost confidence ahead of their upcoming fixtures. They are due to play again on Tuesday already.

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BVB Coach Jan Siewert made two changes to the side that had taken to the field last week against Aachen: Arweiler and Bah-Traore were in for Boadu and Pflücke. The beginning of the encounter saw both teams attempt to keep the game away from their own goalmouth while playing predominantly on the break. One such counterattacking move was brought to a halt unfairly in the 11' minute. After Sören Dieckmann had been fouled, BVB were presented with their first chance of note. The ensuing free kick, taken by Massimo Ornatelli from a good 25 metres out, smashed against the upright and bounced back out onto the pitch. The subsequent shot on the rebound did not threaten goal. Thereafter, the Borussia men set up camp in the opposition half and forced Oberhausen into losing possession both easily and quickly. Jonas Arweiler delivered a particularly noteworthy performance during this opening stage of the game, having already impressed when he came on as a substitute against Aachen.

At the 25 minute mark, BVB were still the better and more active of the teams. Notwithstanding a lack of clear cut goal scoring opportunities up until this point, Jan Siewert's charges were clearly going for it harder than their Oberhausen counterparts. As well as making for danger in open play, the Borussia boys were menacing from set pieces too. Deliveries from Ornatelli (31' minute) and also Arweiler (35' minute) were extremely threatening for Robin Udegbe's goal.

BVB were at their most dangerous via set pieces in the second half too. Shortly after the break, the formidable Chato directed a free kick sent in by Ornatelli onto the post, with RWO goalkeeper Udegbe completely beaten. Herbert Bockhorn went one better one minute later. The outside right player made his way down the right flank, rounded a defender in front of more than 2000 onlookers before slotting home to bring up a deserved 1-0 scoreline. BVB Coach Jan Siewert could not contain himself after the goal to take the lead had been taken, and sprinted down the touchline towards the corner flag in order to join in with the team's celebrations, making for great scenes in an atmospheric Rote Erde stadium. Siewert said of his sprint: "I was just so happy for Herbert. I'm glad he got his rewards today."

The visitors from Oberhausen were visibly shocked at this point. A strong Dortmund team capitalised on this ruthlessly, scoring a second goal not five minutes after having taken the lead. Striker Evangelos Pavlidis gave Robin Udegbe in the visitors' goal no chance of making a save with a bicycle kick, a real wonder goal. With half an hour remaining, BVB had given themselves a fantastic chance of still being ahead once the full 90 minutes had been played.

The visitors cropped up in front of Borussia's goal for the first time during the second passage of play in the 69' minute. After what had been presumed to be foul play, referee Schütter pointed to the spot, a penalty kick Maik Odenthal had no compunction in sinking to get a goal back for 2-1. Jan Siewert reacted to this by bringing on Philipp Hanke for Haymenn Bah Traore. Sören Dieckmann shifted to the left hand side of defence to allow for this. Oberhausen grew in strength during this phase of the game and shot frequently at goal. Nonetheless, BVB keeper Dominik Reimann was completely on his game, his authority and calmness the perfect antidote to any threats on goal. The visitors now threw everything they had forward, which left space in behind for the BVB attack. Despite their best efforts, Oberhausen were unable to accomplish much in injury time either, meaning Borussia ultimately ran out worthy winners with the final score at 2-1. After two defeats on the bounce, it was the perfect start to the hectic fixture list coming up.

Siewert was full of praise for his players after the game: "We got ourselves right in the game, and after Ornatelli's free kick in the first half we were really at it. The goals gave us a good cushion for the second half. Things got a bit fraught towards the end, but given the amount of chances we created relative to our opposition, we deserved to win."

Siewert's boys play a home match again as soon as Tuesday when they take on Westfalia Rhynern, who are currently in last place in the Regional League West table. 
Timo Lammert