The BVB women put up a respectable fight against double winners FC Bayern Munich in the DFB Cup, losing only 0-2 in front of a sold-out crowd. Coach Markus Högner is proud.

Borussia Dortmund against FC Bayern Munich. Long considered a “classic” in the men’s game, in the women’s game it is still (!) David versus Goliath. That’s because the BVB women play in the third-tier Regionalliga West, while the Munich team is the best in Germany.

And so the balance of power in this DFB Cup match was clear. Many expected a heavy defeat for the BVB women. But they defended passionately and even had some good chances in the second half. In the end, the score was only 0-2 (0-2) thanks to a brace from Pernille Harder.

The second half remained goalless. “We said we wanted to play 0-0 in the second half, and we succeeded,” praised BVB coach Markus Högner. “We even had two or three situations that we could have played out better. Overall, we promoted Dortmund women’s soccer,” he summed up with satisfaction.

The 15,755 spectators who made their way to the Rote Erde stadium on Monday evening (September 29) probably saw it that way too. Normally, the limit is 9,999. This was possible because BVB applied for special permission from the city. And because the demand was there. A worthy backdrop. Every successful BVB move was cheered frenetically, every tackle won was celebrated.

“It was definitely a highlight,” agrees Högner. He is eager for more and looks ahead: “We’ve seen what’s possible here. If we really make it to the top, then in the future the fans will continue to spur us on and even more spectators will come to our games.”

A repeat of this first-ever meeting between the two women’s soccer teams is eagerly anticipated, as BVB wants to reach the Bundesliga as soon as possible. But to do that, they need to get their day-to-day business in order, and that’s where they’ve been struggling lately. Their victory against Deutz 05 was annulled due to a substitution error. That’s another reason why Högner is already thinking about the tasks ahead.

“We need to recover as quickly as possible because, strangely enough, we’re playing again on Friday and Sunday. We need to keep up with the leaders,” he says about the upcoming tasks, before once again praising his team’s performance: “Overall, we saw what the team is capable of. We have good players and have managed to put together a good mix.”