U23s concede late equaliser in 2-2 draw with Unterhaching | OneFootball

Borussia Dortmund's U23s have narrowly missed out on a fourth win in a row. The Black & Yellows drew 2-2 with SpVgg Unterhaching on Sunday afternoon. Borussia only conceded the equaliser in the 87th minute of a fast-paced match watched by 2,802 spectators.

The scenario: The Borussia Dortmund U23s went into Matchday 8 and their game against SpVgg Unterhaching in fourth position. They had won their Matchday 9 clash with MSV Duisburg, which had been brought forward, by a 1-0 scoreline at the Rote Erde in midweek – their third victory on the bounce. The visitors from Upper Bavaria had taken 10 points from the opening seven games and occupied 12th spot in the 3. Liga table ahead of kick-off.

Personnel matters: U23 head coach Jan Zimmermann made two changes compared to the team that faced the Meiderich outfit. Captain Franz Pfanne returned to the starting line-up and slotted in in front of the defence. Justin Butler also started the game on the left flank. Michael Eberwein and Falko Michel initially dropped to the bench.

The match & analysis: As they did on Wednesday, the U23s made a lively start. Ole Pohlmann registered a first attempt from distance after four minutes but the ball flew considerably wide of the target. Only a minute later, Guille Bueno broke through down the right flank and picked out Paul Besong with a cross into the middle. The scorer of the winning goal in the Duisburg match shot first-time from 11 metres out and struck the post. The ball bounced off to Julian Hettwer, who did not think twice and fired the Black & Yellows 1-0 in front from a tight angle (5).

Haching were more involved in the game after the early setback. The pacey Simon Skarlatidis tried to make an impact down the left flank. And it was his cross on the quarter-hour mark that picked out Maurice Krattenmacher, whose attempt posed no problems for Marcel Lotka. Bueno posed a threat from distance for the Black & Yellows but the ball flew about a metre over the visitors' goal (18).

Skarlatidis again ventured down the left in the 31st minute and fed Mathias Fetsch in the middle, but his shot from close range was blocked at the last moment and turned behind for a corner courtesy of a sliding intervention from Hendry Blank. The set-piece found Manuel Stiefler, whose header struck the bar. But Justin Butler had been fouled beforehand.

After 33 minutes, Pohlmann upped the tempo in the middle of the park. His pass found the in-form Besong, who cut into the middle from the left wing and fired a perfect shot into the far corner with his right foot. Borussia had the game under control and boasted a two-goal advantage. All the more frustrating then that a set-piece allowed the Upper Bavarians back into the match: a Skarlatidis corner picked out the head of striker Fetsch, who nodded home to reduce the deficit (36).

The Black & Yellows had shone in the first period by showing control and effectiveness in what was a fast-paced game. But Pohlmann spurned a major opportunity from 16 metres right before half-time. His low shot flew narrowly past the goal of Haching custodian Rene Vollath (44).

Driven on by 2,802 fans at the Rote Erde, the lively Julian Hettwer had the first chance of note in the second half but his shot following a strong dribbling run was thwarted by Vollath. Unterhaching applied more pressure in the second period and sought to get into the final third in a more targeted manner. Striker Fetsch went clean through on Lotka following a positional error by Blank but could only fire his shot into the side-netting (58). The visitors were now seizing control. Skarlatidis' dangerous shot was blocked by Patrick Göbel right in front of the line (64).

BVB struggled to relieve the pressure. Samuel Bamba managed to get the better of several Haching players after 70 minutes and cut the ball back to Butler. Raphael Schifferl threw his body in the way. Lotka probably would have been powerless to keep out Krattermacher's curler from almost 20 metres out, but the ball sailed narrowly wide of the far corner (73). Fetsch also spurned two good headed opportunities in close succession (81, 82).

One of the many long balls played by Unterhaching found its way through to Patrick Hobsch in the 87th minute, who kept his cool in front of Lotka and levelled at 2-2. Borussia tried to get back on the attack more during the five minutes of stoppage time but a late winner eluded them.

U23s: Lotka, Bueno, Azhil (Roggow, 58), Butler (Elongo-Yombo, 83), Göbel, Papadopoulos, Hettwer (Bamba, 65), Blank, Besong (Tattermusch, 83), Pfanne, Pohlmann (Michel, 65)

Goals: 1-0 Hettwer (5), 2-0 Besong (33), 2-1 Fetsch (36), 2-2 (Hobsch, 87)