There were goosebumps on every single SC fan as kickoff approached, as the sold-out Europa-Park Stadion played host to not only one of the best teams in German football in BVB, but also Nico Schlotterbeck, returning home for the first time since leaving Freiburg. He started alongside fellow summer signing Anthony Modeste for the Black-Yellows, whilst Christian Streich chose the same starting XI which kicked off the season with a 4-0 win away at FC Augsburg last weekend.

An even opening phase saw shots from both sides easily saved by the respective goalkeepers: Donyell Malen failed to trouble SCF shot-stopper Mark Flekken from just inside the penalty area, whilst Maxi Eggestein was similarly denied by Gregor Kobel at the other end. The home side held their own against BVB from the start and stood firm in the midfield against their stars, including captain Marco Reus.

The quick Ritsu Doan and Roland Sallai were able to cause the away side problems after winning the ball back - Borussia Dortmund were quick to show that they could do the same in the 22nd minute, as Reus and Modeste combined on the left flank to force Flekken into a first fingertip save.

Top sides like BVB have a knack of punishing mistakes and errant passes, but as Nicolas Höfler played a clearance straight into the feet of Raphael Guerreiro on 31 minutes, SCF were lucky to come away unscathed. Not long after, Sallai drew a foul from his opponent, Thomas Meunier, just outside the BVB penalty area. Vincenzo Grifo’s set-piece looked to be flying in, but Kobel denied him (34’).

Gregoritsch heads home the opener

Spurred on by that chance, SCF pushed on for the opener and found It on 35 minutes. A Christian Günter cross was headed back across goal by Matthias Ginter under pressure, finding Michael Gregoritsch who looped his header over the helpless Kobel and into the far corner! Cue an explosion of emotion inside the Europa-Park Stadion, which grew even louder as Modeste missed a chance at the other end just three minutes after the goal.

With just four minutes to go until the interval, Grifo fired an attempt towards goal, but was unluckily blocked by goalscorer Gregoritsch who inadvertently prevented his side from doubling their advantage. A further big chance, this time for Sallai following an Eggestein cross, was missed, which meant SCF went into half-time with a well-earned 1-0 lead.

BVB make half-time changes

Borussia Dortmund head coach Erdin Terzic brought Marius Wolf into the game for the second 45, replacing the booked Meunier at right-back. This gave the Black-Yellows increased attacking impetus, and the second half started with SCF rather under pressure. BVB took more and more control of the game, but were unable to carve out many real chances of note, unlike the home side. On 65 minutes, Gregoritsch headed down for Sallai, whose drive from 18 yards was held by goalkeeper Kobel.

The game became a feisty affair: Nico Schlotterbeck demonstrated that he had lost none of his aggression through his move to Dortmund, as he was booked for a foul on Doan on 67 minutes, right in front of his former coach Streich, who was less than impressed.

Three goals in 13 minutes turn the game

Despite standing firm and letting little through, SC unluckily conceded an equaliser with 13 minutes to go. Young BVB star Jamie Bynoe-Gittens took a pot-shot from over 30 yards, which Flekken watched all the way. The ball, though, had other ideas: it bounced off the Dutch international ‘keeper’s gloves and looped into the net for 1-1. “He made a mistake – that’s no problem,” commented Christian Streich after the game. “It’s always all about the attitude. Losing games like these doesn’t happen often, but there is always that risk.”

With 84 minutes on the clock, substitute Bynoe-Gittens was yet again involved. He ran through the lines into SCF’s box, before finding Julian Brandt, who poked the ball through to Youssoufa Moukoko, another substitute and Black-Yellow wonderkid, to finish an intricate move and turn the game in favour of the away side.

Streich and his coaching staff chose to make changes in reaction to going behind, as Daniel-Kofi Kyereh and Noah Weißhaupt replaced Grifo and Doan. The new attackers could not, however, do anything to prevent a third BVB substitute adding to the scoresheet. With two minutes of normal time remaining, Wolf cut in from the right and fizzed a low left-footed drive into the far corner to seal the win for Dortmund. “The team did well. What matters now is that we draw the right conclusions from the game, so that we can go into the next match in the same manner,” mused Streich.

Despite the final score, SC fans all over the stadium remained after full time to applaud their team on a spirited performance. A win next Saturday in the Baden-Württemberg derby away to VfB Stuttgart (15:30 CEST) will go far to putting wide smiles back on the faces of everyone connected with SCF.

Photo: Achim Keller