On Saturday, arch-rivals FC Schalke 04 and Borussia Dortmund were aiming to secure a place in the round of 16 in the main round of the DFB’s U19 youth league. The S04 talents suffered a memorable defeat, which was just not enough for BVB.
The signs were clear: with a point against league leaders VfL Wolfsburg, FC Schalke 04’s U19s would have been guaranteed a place in the knockout round of the U19 championship, but BVB had to win against second-placed 1. FC Heidenheim – and hope for FC Augsburg’s bankruptcy or a clear defeat for the Knappen. Ultimately, that didn’t happen, but the match day will still be remembered for a long time by most of those involved.
On Saturday, FC Bayern were right to celebrate when they were able to turn around a 3-0 deficit against FSV Mainz 05 in the Bundesliga and win 4-3. A comeback that should only make VfL Wolfsburg’s A-Juniors smile wearily.
The Wolves, who had long since secured a place in the round of 16 of the A-Youth Championship before the last matchday of the main round, were 4-0 behind against FC Schalke’s youth team after 47 minutes – and still left the pitch as winners.
Luckily BVB are missing three goals
The Wolves turned Schalke’s lead through Malik Tubic (2nd/35th minute), Niclas Damberg (18th) and captain Luca Vozar (47th) with a furious comeback in the second half. Darwin Soylu (49th/69th), an own goal from Silas Thier (67th), Karlo Simic (80th) and Pharell Hensel (84th) scored the young wolves to victory.
In the parallel game, BVB did their homework confidently against 1. FC Heidenheim and won 3-1, but since Augsburg were also able to book a place in the last 16 with a 3-0 win against bottom team Kiel, the youngsters of the Black and Yellows were among the defeated.
Like S04, BVB has 14 points, but the goal difference (+2) ultimately tipped the balance in favor of the Royal Blues. BVB would have needed three more goals because they were able to win the direct comparison against S04 (4:1 and 3:3).
Schalke’s U19s continue on May 1st when they fight for the quarter-final ticket against TSG 1899 Hoffenheim.
