U23s pick up point at SV Meppen | OneFootball

A really good performance from our U23s on Easter Saturday: BVB created a number of excellent opportunities in Emsland but ultimately had to settle for a point following a 1-1 draw away in Meppen.

The opposition: SV Meppen went into this home game against our U23s without their head coach Rico Schmitt, who had returned a positive antigen test on Friday evening. Following an extremely successful first half of the season which saw them sitting in third place at the turn of the year, Meppen have picked up only nine points in 2022. The Blue & Whites went into the match five points and three places behind Borussia.

Personnel matters: BVB boss Enrico Maassen made two changes to the starting XI that suffered a 1-0 defeat at SIGNAL IDUNA PARK last weekend, with Justin Njinmah and top U19 forward Bradley Fink beginning in place of Berkan Taz and the injured Moritz Broschinski.

The match & analysis: Our U23s made the better start in front of 8,727 fans at the Hänsch-Arena and had the first good opportunities through Njinmah and Fink in the opening 10 minutes.

But the first and only dangerous moment of the first half from the home team gave them the lead in the 16th minute. A low cross into the middle from the Dortmund right fell to Meppen centre-forward Christoph Hemlein, who brought the ball under control with his back to goal and fired an unstoppable shot on the turn past goalkeeper Luca Unbehaun between the sticks.

BVB sought to hit back immediately through Richmond Tachie, who fired a long-range effort at goal. But Matthis Harsmann in between the posts for the hosts managed to tip the ball over the crossbar. As the game approached the half-hour mark, the lively Tachie missed from a promising position.

Borussia continued to pile on the pressure. The next opportunity fell to Abdoulaye Kamara, who was nicely played in by Tachie, but his attempted volley was also kept out by the Meppen shot-stopper. Another good chance for the Black & Yellows followed when Kamara played in a free-kick from a deeper position, only for Franz Pfanne's powerful header to sail a matter of inches wide of the SVM goal.

Top chances were now being created on an almost minutely basis: Fink teed up Tachie, who fired the ball narrowly over the goal. There was one more moment of excitement to come before the break: SVM keeper Harsmann illegally picked up a backpass and our boys were awarded an indirect free-kick on the edge of the six-yard box. But Tachie could not find a gap in the Emsland side's tightly packed wall and the hosts saw their slender lead through to the interval.

The Black & Yellows got their reward after the break, however: Njinmah turned on the afterburners on the counter, rounded the opposition goalie and coolly fired the long overdue equaliser in from a tight angle to make it 1-1 (55).

The U23s were not as dominant as they had been in the opening half in the period that followed, but continued to look really dangerous. In the 74th minute, substitute Immanuel Pherai brought down a high ball outstandingly and outmanoeuvred his marker in the closest of confines. His shot was cleared off the line, however.

Moments later, goalscorer Njinmah again went close with a looping header that was ultimately not quite precise enough. On the 82-minute mark, Fink was brilliantly set up by Pherai and found himself in a dangerous position centrally in front of goal, but the Swiss striker then blazed the ball over the crossbar. The Black & Yellows then caught a break towards the end: Tankulic was disturbed at the last minute as he prepared to shoot (89) and the game finished all square.

BVB U23s: Unbehaun, Finnsson, Dams, Maloney, Bueno, Kamara, Pfanne, Viet, Njinmah (Taz, 79), Fink (Bornemann, 86), Tachie (Pherai, 61)

Goals: 1-0 Hemlein (16), 1-1 Njinmah (55)

Outlook: Hallescher FC will be the visitors to SIGNAL IDUNA PARK at 14:00 CET next Saturday (23/04).