U19s well placed after win over Sabah
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Team news
Coach Felix Hirschnagl was once again able to bolster his starting line-up with U23 players Fadi Zarqelain, Tim Degener and Aaron Held, as well as young professional Luca Reggiani in the first half, who made way for Georgios Zisopoulos after the break. Defender Jan-Luca Riedl, who had made his comeback after a lengthy injury lay-off in the 6-2 win over RW Oberhausen, returned to the team. Otherwise, BVB stuck with the line-up that had won at Bodø/Glimt a week earlier.
Match report
In ideal conditions (22 degrees), the hosts at the Alinja Stadium opted for a compact defensive block after two heavy defeats (5-0 at Manchester United and 3-0 against Slavia Prague). BVB dominated and controlled the game, but initially struggled to find ways in the final third to break down the Azerbaijanis’ solid defence or seriously trouble their impressive goalkeeper Yarahmadov. Efforts from Luca Reggiani, Tim Degener, Justin Hoy and Luke Fahrenhorst missed the target. The hosts also kept Borussia’s leading scorer Bjarki Gardarsson on a tight leash.
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BVB enjoyed plenty of possession, upped the tempo after the break and pinned Sabah deep inside their own half. Their finishing, however, still lacked precision and conviction. Luck was not on their side either, as Gardarsson hit the woodwork in the 60th minute. Dortmund increased the pressure with every passing minute, with the impressive Jan-Luca Riedl also contributing from the back. The defender finally gave his team the breakthrough in the 74th minute with the long-overdue opener, after Georgios Zisopoulos had also been denied by the woodwork.
That broke the hosts’ resistance. BVB attacked with even greater intensity and were rewarded for their bold approach. First, Justin Hoy missed a penalty after being fouled in the box (82'), before substitute Ahmad Najdi put the result beyond doubt by making it 2-0 in the 88th minute.
Reaction
Felix Hirschnagl: “It was the tough away game we expected against a defensively minded opponent. We tried to apply plenty of pressure from the very first minute and had lots of opportunities to put crosses into the box. We didn’t really manage to do that in the first half. Otherwise, we would have taken the lead earlier. After the break, we stepped things up considerably and improved. Our counter-pressing was exceptionally good today. In the end, the boys thoroughly deserved the 2-0 win.”
Looking ahead
Attention now turns to next Sunday’s big DFB Youth League clash away to FC Schalke 04 (11:00). BVB travel as league leaders (17 points) to face the Gelsenkirchen side, who currently sit fourth with nine points.
The next home game in the UEFA Youth League is against Real Betis on Wednesday, 4 November (16:00 at the youth training centre).
U19: Held – Reggiani (Zisopoulos 46'), Riedl (König 86'), Ritter, Adje (Kaymak 63') – Fahrenhorst, Degener (Najdi 75'), Faust (Burkhardt 63') – Zarqelain, Gardarsson, Hoy
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