Wuppertaler SV put on a great performance against Borussia Dortmund’s U23 team in the Regionalliga West. Coach Mike Wunderlich identifies individual mistakes—and addresses them directly.
Under coach Mike Wunderlich, Wuppertaler SV is slowly but surely finding its footing in the Regionalliga West. After a strong performance against Borussia Dortmund’s U23s, the match ended in a 2-2 (1-2) draw.
A 2-2 draw against the sixth-place team: a result that everyone in charge at Wuppertaler SV would certainly have signed off on before kickoff. It speaks to the quality of WSV’s performance that there was still a sense of dissatisfaction afterward. Yet the game got off to an excellent start.
Vincent Schaub put WSV ahead 1-0 in the eighth minute. “We got off to a good start, stuck to our game plan, and took a deserved lead,” said coach Wunderlich, who was also satisfied with the opening phase.
But then the game leveled off, and BVB took a somewhat flattering lead with two chances by Michael Eberwein (25th) and Nick Cherny (41st). But the truth is also that WSV played a big part in it. “Eberwein has his back to our goal, and we have four players standing right next to him. That’s too easy for me,” grumbled the coach, who also criticized a WSV mistake on the second goal.
WSV does a lot right defensively, but plays a big part in BVB’s goals
Because, from Wunderlich’s perspective, Cherny’s long-range shot was “not an unstoppable ball” for goalkeeper Michael Luyambula. But WSV didn’t give up and then equalized after the break via an own goal by Ousmane Diallo following a corner (47th minute).
Just three minutes later, new signing Josue Santo nearly capped off his debut, but he hit only the left post after a cross from Schaub. WSV also had some bad luck when no penalty was awarded after a fairly clear foul by Elias Benkara on Schaub (57th minute).
“The belief was there, the passion was there,” said Wunderlich, who was satisfied overall. “You could see it in the crowd, too. It’s only with this mentality that we’ll succeed. Given this courageous performance, I would have loved to see the team take all three points. But we’ll take the point.”
My role hasn’t changed, but the captain’s armband drives me even more to achieve success with the team.
Dominic Duncan
Precisely because of the team’s strong, combative performance, the crowd also loudly backed the WSV right until the end. “The fans were loud throughout the entire game,” said WSV captain Dominic Duncan, who also experienced the fantastic support. “They’ve always supported us, of course, but today it was even louder. We’re very grateful for that as a team.”
The tall defensive midfielder has now settled into his role as captain. “My role hasn’t changed, but the captain’s armband drives me even more to achieve success with the team.”
BVB coach Daniel Rios, meanwhile, saw “no good performance” from his team. “We didn’t get into the game at all, and that carried on throughout the entire first half. The only positive was the 2-1 lead. At halftime, we discussed what we wanted to do better in the second half. That message clearly didn’t get through. What followed was a frantic spell in which Wuppertal certainly could have taken the lead.”
Dortmund’s U23s continue their campaign on Sunday (February 15) against VfL Bochum’s U21s. Kickoff at the Rote Erde Stadium is at 2 p.m. At the same time, Wuppertaler SV will face Schalke 04’s U23s at the Parkstadion.