U23s lose away to 1860 Munich | OneFootball

The scenario: After the defeat against Essen last weekend, U23 coach Jan Zimmermann set picking up points as the target for the match in Munich. After a tough week of training, BVB hoped to avoid losing a direct duel in the tight relegation battle in the 3. Liga. 1860 last won in front of their home fans on 9 November and were the team with the worst home record in the league going into the game.

Personnel matters: Prince Aning, Rodney Elongo-Yombo, Michael Eberwein, Patrick Göbel and Tony Reitz were all fit again after recent injuries. Kjell Wätjen, on the other hand, was absent due to illness. Cole Campbell (adductor) and Marcel Lotka (shoulder) were unavailable, joining Felix Paschke, Felix Irorere and Julian Hettwer on the list of absentees. Almugera Kabar had to sit out due to a yellow-card suspension. This resulted in five changes to the starting line-up compared to the 1-0 loss against Essen: Göbel, Mogultay, Azhil, Roggow and Drakas moved into the starting XI to replace Hüning, Kabar, Wätjen, Campbell and Elongo-Yombo.

The match: The opening quarter of an hour belonged to the Lions, as the U23s struggled to get out of their own half. The hosts set up shop around Dortmund's penalty area and looked for gaps in the defence. After eight minutes, Munich right-back Tim Danhof burst past Baran Mogultay and drilled in a wicked cross, which took a touch off Franz Roggow and deflected past Silas Ostrzinski to give the hosts an early lead.

Just eight minutes later, the Black & Yellows were back in luck: Maximilian Wolfram picked out striker Dickson Abiama unmarked five metres from Silas Ostrzinski's goal. However, the Nigerian fluffed his finish and failed to make it 2-0. The pressure on the BVB defence remained immense. Even striker Jordi Paulina was forced to make a sliding tackle which any defender would be proud of to break up an attacking move from the Munich side. After 20 minutes, Dortmund tried to establish some security through calm passing - an approach which paid off.

The Black & Yellows' share of the play increased by the minute and coach Zimmermann's team gained much more control. Nevertheless, Borussia lacked any real goal threat up front. Up to that point, BVB mostly tried their luck with long balls, which posed minimal threat to the 1860 defence. The hosts, on the other hand, were consistently dangerous going forward and missed several good chances to extend their lead. The real positive for the U23s after a toothless first-half performance was that they only trailed 1-0.

Zimmermann seemed to have found the right words for his team, who dominated possession after the break. It took until the 59th minute of the match for Borussia to finally pose a threat in front of the Lions' goal. Babis Drakas had plenty of space on the right flank and played the ball in low to the centre, where Paulina was unable to get his toe to the ball. In perfect weather for football, the game really picked up pace as both sides traded blows.

There was a brief moment of shock for Dortmund in the 65th minute when keeper Ostrzinski hit his head on the post after trying to clear a high-arching ball. Fortunately, he was able to continue. The rapid tempo continued - one moment 1860 were dangerous, the next BVB would take the ball down the other end. Elongo-Yombo took a cross from Göbel down with his chest at the far post and smashed the ball against the upright. Overall, however, the hosts were the ones with more attacking intent, as the Black & Yellows failed to punish the home side's poor chance conversion.

However, Dortmund could not be accused of lacking fight. Ostrzinski was already beaten in the 76th minute when several Dortmund defenders threw themselves in front of the ball with the goal gaping to prevent the scoreline from reaching 2-0

To make matters worse, Ayman Azhil had to come off injured in the 81st minute after grabbing his hamstring. Without their captain, BVB were unable to summon up an equaliser. All of their attacking attempts ended in frustration, leaving Dortmund without a win in three games, as 1860 moved above them in the league table.

Jan Zimmermann: "It was very unfortunate to go behind through a deflection. We were then lucky to go into the break 1-0 down and looked very unsettled. But you mustn't forget that some of the players had lost energy during the week due to illness. Michael Eberwein, for example, didn't train at all. I can't criticise the team for their fighting spirit, but we lacked assertiveness in attack today."

Outlook: Borussia continue their English week on Wednesday with a tough away game at Dynamo Dresden (12 March, kick-off 19:00 CET). A home game against Viktoria Köln (15 March) is the final fixture before the international break.