With a 2-1 defeat against SC Paderborn, FC Schalke 04’s U17s lost the lead in the U17 Bundesliga West at the weekend. In the test three days later there was a victory.

FC Schalke 04’s U17s suffered a setback in the B-Junior Bundesliga West last weekend. After seven wins in a row, which pushed Thomas Bertels’ team to the top of the table, they lost 2-1 at home to fourth-placed SC Paderborn.

As a result, the miners not only lost the lead in the table, which the previously level on points and still unbeaten Leverkusen had conquered with a 4:0 win over Rot-Weiß Oberhausen, but also dropped to third place, which would no longer entitle them to participate in the final round of the German championship. Borussia Dortmund are now in second place after a 5:0 away win at Viktoria Köln.

Just three days later, however, Schalke’s U17s had another chance to prove their coach right. The test match was against the U17s of Dutch first division club FC Utrecht – and S04 were successful.

3:1 victory over FC Utrecht

Bertels rotated his starting eleven against the Dutch side, who occupy sixth place out of eight in their domestic league after four games, and introduced eight new players compared to the 2-1 defeat against SCP. Blessing Mulweme (15), Maxime Ndong-Penda (32) and Alexander Ivankin (52) ultimately scored to give Schalke a 3-1 win.

Next Sunday (11 a.m.), things should be similar in the league. The Bertels team will then visit Rot-Weiß Oberhausen, who are currently in 14th place, three points off the safety margin.

At the same time, the competition for a place in the final round will also be challenged. Leaders Bayer Leverkusen must travel to MSV Duisburg, who are in tenth place and six points ahead of RWO. BVB will host ninth-placed Fortuna from Düsseldorf