Borussia Dortmund’s U23s celebrate a point against 1.FC Saarbrücken after a valiant fight. The home side were only broken down in the final minutes.

After two consecutive victories against promotion hopefuls in the 3rd division, Borussia Dortmund II clung on to the next three-pointer for a long time against 1. FC Saarbrücken on Friday evening. But despite an early card, the visitors fought back to equalize 1:1 in the closing stages.

The opening phase was characterized by high tempo and aggressive pressing. Things got really bad for BVB’s second team early on. In a tackle just outside his own penalty area, Falko Michel lifted his leg far too high and caught Julian Günther-Schmidt full in the head – red! The Saarbrücken player was only back on the pitch after a long treatment break.

The visitors then took control of the game, but failed to create any really dangerous finishing opportunities. A pinprick from the home side was then enough to turn the game on its head once again. BVB keeper Silas Ostrzinski hit the leather long to Elongo-Yombo, who hammered the ball into the heart of Saarbrücken from a good 35 meters with the help of the crossbar (26′). Despite being outnumbered, BVB invested a huge amount in the game and therefore often found themselves behind. Kai Brünker narrowly missed (38′) and Marcel Gaus tried with force instead of precision (45′). The home side thus took the 1:0 lead into the dressing room

The home side continued to show courage in the second half and looked to push forward, opening up space for the visitors. A cross from the left found Günther-Schmidt, who headed just a few meters in front of Ostrzinski. However, the BVB goalkeeper was not challenged. Julian Hettwer made it 2:0 just a few minutes later. The ex-Duisburg player made a strong run and failed to beat Tim Stanislaw Schreiber from an acute angle (64′).

Saarbrücken ran out of time and looked increasingly helpless the longer the game went on. Dortmund Borussia’s U23s worked passionately and had a goalkeeper in Ostrzinski in the box who was wide awake. After Boeder’s powerful finish from the second row, the 20-year-old stretched his legs and made a defensive save (72′). At the other end, BVB failed to take advantage of a huge opportunity. Ayman Azhil, who had a shot on the right in the sixteen, only hit the outside of the net.

Saarbrücken increased the pressure enormously in the final quarter of an hour. Dortmund had few opportunities to relieve the pressure. In the 86th minute, the visitors scored the long-awaited equalizer. Manuel Zeitz headed in the now overdue 1:1. BVB’s U23s managed to keep the score at 1:1 and had to settle for a point in the end.

Black & Yellow next face Viktoria Köln (Friday, February 9, 7 p.m.) to open the 25th matchday. 1.FC Saarbrücken, who face Borussia Mönchengladbach in a cup tie during the week, will host SpVgg Unterhaching