After a little more than two weeks with no competitive action, Leverkusen’s U19s were keen to get back into their stride quickly in their top-of-the-table clash against FC Viktoria Köln. At the Kurtekotten performance centre, the best defence – league leaders Bayer 04 had conceded just one goal in four matches to date – faced the best attack in Group G: Viktoria, sitting second in the table, had already scored 22 goals in four outings. In the table, just two points separated the two teams ahead of kick-off. Werkself coach Patrick Greveraars made two changes from the line-up that had secured a 6-0 cup win against Carl Zeiss Jena: Ivan Massek Bakotaken and Burak Kir came into the starting XI in place of Dustin Buck and Rayan Zidane, who both started on the bench.
Both teams got off to a fast-paced start. Bayer 04 goalkeeper Simeon Rapsch was forced into action within seconds following a long-range effort from the visitors (1’). Viktoria pressed high up the pitch and, shortly afterwards, had another chance through Vunguidica, which Rapsch once again saved (5’). The home side responded with quick transitions. Gabriel Minutillo had the first good chance following a counter-attack – but the number 10’s attempt went wide (8'). Then it was Köln’s turn again, with Vunguidica missing the target by a whisker (13').
The Bayer 04 youngsters had to weather a few tricky situations against a pressing Köln side In the early stages before eventually taking the lead themselves: Burak Kir found himself in space on the edge of the box and fired a low left-footed shot into the right-hand corner, leaving Köln’s keeper Dortmann with no chance (22’). The 1–0 lead allowed the hosts to play with a little more composure, and they were quick to double their lead. Nebe Domnic thundered a free-kick – which possibly took a deflection – into the net from around 24 metres to make it 2–0 (28').
Viktoria remained unfazed by the hosts’ quick-fire double: Ege Sarikaya pulled one back from close range to make it 2–1 (33’). Just two minutes later, they almost got back on level terms when Bayer 04 goalkeeper Rapsch managed - only with some difficulty - to tip a shot from Paul Kolec onto the post (35’). The highly intense local derby had now turned into an end-to-end affair. Simone Cannizzaro's lob went just over the Köln goal (38’). Viktoria’s Ermis struck the side netting with a free-kick (42’). Shortly before half-time, Kir was denied once again by Dortmann following a strong solo run (45’+1). Leverkusen went into the break with a 2–1 lead after 47 minutes.
The match resumed after the break at the same break-neck pace. Leverkusen's Kir and Gabriel Minutillo had remained in the dressing room, with Greveraars bringing on two fresh replacements in Dustin Buck and Boaz Barzuwa. The tempo remained high, but there were no real clear-cut chances to speak of initially. Just over an hour in, Rapsch needed all his class to save a shot from Köln substitute Barry, a former Leverkusen player (62’). In the subsequent counter-attack, the hosts squandered the chance to make it 3–1 when they failed to capitalise on an overload situation (63’). Buck also had a good chance but came up short against Viktoria goalkeeper Dortmann (79’).
Shortly afterwards, however, the ball was once again in the back of the visitors' net. Bayer 04 captain Ben Hawighorst curled a free-kick from 16 metres into the left-hand corner to make it 3–1 (80'). In the dying seconds, the visitors managed to pull one back to 3–2 following an own goal by Nebe Domnic (90'), before the final whistle blew at the Kurtekotten centre. Bayer 04’s U19s had secured their fifth win in five matches and extended their lead over second-placed Viktoria Köln to five points.
“We may not have played the sort of football I would have liked today, but the team always fought for the win, and that’s very important,” said Bayer 04 coach Greveraars after the match. “In the first half, our game was too inconsistent; we lost possession too quickly against strong opponents. In the second half, we played with more control and defended better. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to capitalise on a few counter-attacking opportunities. But in the end, we are of course delighted with our fifth win.”
This coming Sunday, 20 September sees the Leverkusen U19s back in action in the DFB Youth Cup: in the round of 16, Greveraars’ side are away to 1. FC Kaiserslautern. The match at the Sportpark Rote Teufel in Mehlingen kicks off at 11:00 CEST. Their next match in the DFB Youth League is on Saturday 10 October at 11:00 CEST, when Bayer 04 will host Alemannia Aachen.
The stats:
Bayer 04: Rapsch - Domnic, Probst, Hawighorst, Massek Bakotaken (84' Hololobov), Minutillo (46' Barzuwa), Wilson (90'+3 Damjanovic), Koc, Kir (46' Buck), Cannizzaro (70' Zidane), Doganay
Viktoria Köln: Dortmann – Abrifor (60' Hajredini), Saidi Solanes (82' Ouattara) , Bayrak, Kolec, Rahim, Majunke, Vunguidica (60' Barry), Ermis (76' Hecht), Beitz (82' Eskisarili), Sarikaya (76' Bak)
Goals: 1-0 Kir (22'), 2-0 Domnic (28'), 2-1 Sarikaya (33'), 3-1 Hawighorst (80'), 3-2 Domnic (90'/own goal)
Yellow cards: Wilson – Majunke, Kolec
Referee: Jonas Fischbach
Spectators: 200 at the Kurtekotten performance centre
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