Borussia’s U17s started off the inaugural DFB special round with a 4-1 win at FC Hennef 05.

Almost even more important for coach Karsten Gorges was the return of Elias Benkara and Alex Niziolek, who made their comebacks after months out injured. Centre-back Benkara tore his cruciate ligament away to SV Deutz back in August while Niziolek, BVB’s top-scorer after Paris Brunner, has been unavailable to play for the team since the start of October due to a persistent injury. 

The forward opened the scoring at 1-0 in Hennef and then notched two assists. “We’re happy that Alex is back again. We’ve really missed him,” said coach Karsten Gorges of the striker’s brilliant comeback. The home side restored parity before the interval but then saw their defences breached three times in the closing stages. Substitute Jakob Zickler, who was also frequently sidelined during the Bundesliga season due to various injuries, bagged a brace with goals in the 82nd and 84th minutes, before Shayan Sadeghi rounded off the scoring. Elias Benkara came off the bench in the 76th minute.

The U17s will go up against Borussia Mönchengladbach in the second match of this special round on Sunday. The “Young Foals” finished the Bundesliga campaign ahead of BVB in fourth place. The following fixtures: 
Wednesday 19 April (18:00 CET): BVB vs. VfL Bochum
Sunday 23 April April (11:00 CET): Fortuna Köln vs. BVB

U17s: Aabro – Numbisie (Zickler, 76), Plöger (Benkara, 76), Adamczyk, Kabar – Uka (Sadeghi, 64), Kerlen – Herrmann, Gürpüz, Burstedde – Niziolek