Just a few days after the VfL U17, the Green-and-White U19s have also reached their next milestone: the team led by head coach Niklas Bräuer won 4-2 (2-1) away at Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday evening, securing their place in the knockout stage with three matchdays still to play in the main round. Two VfL leads through goals from Darwin Soylu (7th/37th, pen) were each cancelled out by the hosts. However, Borussia Dortmund had no answer to two further goals from the now even more assured Group B leaders in League A of the DFB youth league, scored by Karlo Simic (69th) and Carl-Anton Sticherling (82nd).
Third lead finally holds
While the Green-and-Whites came into the match on the back of a 3-0 win over Holstein Kiel, Dortmund had most recently lost at FC Augsburg but still retained realistic hopes of progressing. Yet the Wolves, clear 4-0 winners in the first meeting of the main round, made a superb start and took the lead with one of their first chances when Soylu converted a direct free-kick (7th). The advantage lasted barely 20 minutes, as Justin Hoy equalised for Dortmund after winning the ball in midfield, firing a powerful shot into the far corner (25th). That VfL regained the lead before the break was once again down to Soylu, who calmly converted the resulting penalty after a handball in the box (37th). After the restart, Dortmund made the better start: Lasse Jaensch levelled at 2-2 with a finish into the near corner (63rd). VfL, however, were undeterred and quickly regained control of the match. Simic restored the lead with a superb strike, smashing the ball into the roof of the net from inside the box (69th), before Sticherling sealed a hard-earned but fully deserved away victory with a close-range finish (82nd).
Niklas Bräuer: “We put in a solid performance away from home against a very strong opponent in a midweek game. Especially in the first half, we allowed very little and deservedly scored two goals. After the break, Dortmund increasingly took control, but we kept fighting. The longer the game went on, the more we controlled it with the ball, created good moments and ultimately deserved to win. I’m very pleased that we’ve secured our place in the knockout stage. The boys have earned that.”
VfL Wolfsburg U19: Khadasevych – Bürger (46. Licht), Boog, Till Neininger (83. Greger), Dittrich (65. Balde) – Furtado Brito (74. Tim Neininger), Hensel – Benedict (65. Sticherling), Soylu (83. John), Katz – Simic
Goals: 0-1 Soylu (7th), 1-1 Hoy (25th), 1-2 Soylu (37th, pen), 2-2 Jaensch (63rd), 2-3 Simic (69th), 2-4 Sticherling (82nd)
