Borussia Dortmund II won 2-0 (1-0) against league leaders SV Elversberg and took a big step towards staying in the 3rd division.

After Borussia Dortmund II’s positive streak in the 3. Liga ended last week with a 1:2 loss to SC Verl, BVB bounced back impressively on Matchday 34, defeating leaders SV Elversberg 2:0 (1:0).

Before the match, BVB coach Jan Zimmermann described the defeat against Verl as a “slip-up” and was to be proved right. Dortmund’s top scorer Justin Njinmah put his team ahead in the 36th minute with his eleventh goal of the season. In the second half, Falko Michel made it 2-0 after an assist from Njinmah (61st).

“We wanted to stand compact, switch well and open up the pitch in possession,” Zimmermann explained the match plan. “In the first 15 minutes it was a bit shaky, but after that very stable, very disciplined and tactically really good. We could have scored the third goal earlier, but in the last quarter of an hour we could have got one more and then it would have been really tight again,” analyzed the 43-year-old. “The bottom line is that it was a deserved win.”

After the defeat against Verl, the team convinced against the league leader with courage and self-confidence, he said. “It was important that we didn’t fall down after the one defeat, but remained stable and the boys underlined that against Elversberg,” Zimmermann explained.

BVB II wants to take the next step toward staying in the relegation zone against Viktoria Köln

On the upcoming matchday, the Dortmunders have the opportunity to take another big step toward staying in the relegation zone with a win against Viktoria Köln (Sunday, May 7, 2 p.m.). The first leg against Cologne – still under the direction of former coach Christian Preußer – was lost 0:2 in the final phase at the Stadion am Zoo in Wuppertal.

Accordingly, Zimmermann expects a difficult away game. “Viktoria Köln is a team with a strong game that, just like Verl, has already secured its place in the class. They have an interesting way of playing soccer and it will certainly be another intense game for us,” explained the Dortmund coach with regard to the upcoming task.