The Westfalenpokal semi-final proved to be the end of the line for Borussia’s U17s. Captain Almugera Kabar & Co. lost 3-0 to German vice-champions Schalke 04. “The margin of the defeat was far too high,” commented head coach Karsten Gorges.

This was a match that was contested on an equal footing for the most part. While BVB were unlucky with their finishing, Schalke consistently converted their chances. “They were ultimately more effective,” explained Gorges. who had made several changes to the starting line-up that recently claimed a 6-1 victory away to Fortuna Cologne. Robin Lisewski, William Rashidi, Cole Campbell, Kjell Wätjen and Tyler Meiser returned from the U19 squad and made for greater individual quality, but it was evident that the team that had lined up in this composition for a long time.

BVB had a great opportunity to take a 1-0 lead through Cole Campbell, but he failed to beat Schalke goalkeeper Niklas Alter. Instead, it was Schalke who took the lead seconds before the break through Mika Khadar. “This goal was not on the cards and came at the worst-possible time for us,” Karsten Gorges said.

But the Black & Yellows did well to find their way back into the game and pushed for the equaliser. However, a defensive error that Taycan Etcibasi exploited to put the hosts 2-0 up proved to be a decisive setback. Raul König, who has been called up by Spain for the U17 European Championships, narrowly missed the chance to pull a goal back via a free-kick, before Ben Berzen made it 3-0 to Schalke via a straightforward counter-attack.

That means the U17s can focus fully on “Liga A” in the DFB Special Round, for which the draw will take place on Tuesday, in May.

U17s: Lisewski – Rashidi (Numbisie, 58), Benkara, Meiser, Kabar – Herrmann, Wätjen, Feddersen (Uka, 58), Kerlen (Burstedde, 46), Campbell – Niziolek (König, 58) 
(wiwi)