The scenario: Following a run of five matches without a win (three draws and two defeats), Borussia's U23s were 15th in the table with only a one-point gap to the relegation places. Mannheim have been on a completely different trajectory in terms of their recent form, racking up three wins in four games. However, Mannheim and Dortmund were separated by only one point ahead of their head-to-head meeting.
Personnel matters: BVB coach Jan Zimmermann fielded two new faces compared to the 1-1 draw against Viktoria Köln prior to the international break. Marcel Lotka made his comeback in goal after recovering from a shoulder injury. The 23-year-old had missed four third-tier games. In addition, defensive midfielder Tony Reitz started in place of attacker Jordi Paulina, making the set-up a little more defensive. Experienced head Michael Eberwein lined up alongside Rodney Elongo-Yombo up front.
The match & analysis: The game did not take long to get going, with both teams making a focused start. Mannheim were the livelier side and enjoyed several spells of pressure, but the hosts did not achieve much against the well-organised BVB rearguard. Arianit Ferati's effort from distance was the only promising opportunity (7).
The first big opportunity of the game fell to BVB. A corner ball from Reitz was headed towards Eberwein at the back post by Yannick Lührs. But the veteran forward tried to be too precise and sent the ball narrowly wide of the right upright from close range (16).
Almost 17 minutes later, the attacking player was perfectly set up once again. Rodney Elongo-Yombo played a cross towards Antonio Foti, who squared the ball to Eberwein. But this time the 29-year-old's goalbound header was far too central. Waldhof goalie Jan-Christoph Bartels made the save.
Earlier, the visitors had twice got themselves into dangerous positions in front of the Dortmund goal. The outstanding Ferati first missed the top-left corner from a central position (23), before Samuel Abifade forced BVB shot-stopper Lotka into making a save (25).
After the second big BVB chance, the home team lost their way a little. That offered up space to the Dortmund players, but the efforts from Foti (36) and Elongo-Yombo (42) did not pose enough of a threat.
BVB coach Zimmermann brought on Niklas Jessen for Almugera Kabar at the break. The first change resulted in a reshuffle of the BVB back four: Ben Hünning moved from the right to the middle, with Jessen replacing him on the flank. David Lelle took over Kabar's role down the left.
The Black & Yellows exercised slightly more control following the interval, but lacked the necessary penetration going forward. Mannheim also lacked the footballing solutions to break down the BVB defence. As a result, nothing notable happened in front of goal for a while.
In the 66th minute, many of the 19,507 fans were suddenly calling for a penalty kick for Mannheim. After a challenge with substitute Jessen, Tim Sechelmann was brought down in the penalty area. However, referee Christian Dingert did not award a spot-kick for the incident. Shortly ...
