First derby victory: BVB women beat Schalke in front of record crowd | OneFootball

In the first half, the Borussia women had the game under the control for extended periods, but did not carve out clear chances in front of the away goal. On 21 minutes, the Borussia supporters inside the Rote Erde collectively held their breath for a moment as a Schalke shot flew just passed the post. At the other hand, Annika Enderle looked set to open the scoring herself, but Schalke's keeper Julia Matuszek was able to parry the shot from the edge of the box.   In the 38th minute of the game, the guests from Gelsenkirchen did actually take the lead, as Edina Habibovic was able to beat BVB goalkeeper Sandra Schröer, who had come too far out after a throw, lifting the ball over the top of the helpless keeper from 25 metres out.

But the BVB faithful didn't have to wait long for a response from the Black & Yellows. Picking the ball up around midway in the Schalke half just three minutes later, captain Marie Grothe swung in a right-footed cross from the left-hand side, finding Dana Marquardt unmarked at the far post, and Marquardt nodded the ball home from close range in the 41st minute. The two sides headed into the break at 1-1.

The first dangerous moments in the second half belonged to the women from Gelsenkirchen. First, Schalke's Deli narrowly missed with a header after a good free-kick cross on 61 minutes, and shortly afterwards there was another heart-in-mouth moment when Paula Reimann guided a Schalke cross only narrowly wide of her own goal in the 64th minute.

The closing stages, in turn, belonged to BVB, with substitute Marah Tayeh going close on 78 minute before Annika Enderle missed another good chance six minutes from time. On 88 minutes, Enderle remained ice cool and fired home from an inside-left position in the penalty area, converting Marquardt's assist to send the record-breaking crowd into raptures. The result leaves the BVB women top of the table, leading the way in the Westfalenliga with a four-point lead over Schalke with just three games to play. "It was a big step toward the championship today, but we still have to get our points in the rest of the games and then we can celebrate at the end of the season," said captain Marie Grothe, summing up today's game after the final whistle.

Next up for the BVB women will be TV Brechten on Thursday, as they contest the Kreispokal final. Kick-off in that one is at 16:00 CET. They are next in action in the Westfalenliga against BV Werther on Sunday. Kick-off in Werther is at 15:15 CET.