The U19 footballers of FSV Mainz 05 have conquered their second A-Junior championship title by beating defending champions Borussia Dortmund. The team led by six-time Bundesliga player Nelson Weiper won the final of the A-Junior Bundesliga at home on Sunday 4-2 (2-2, 0-0) after extra time against BVB. Joker Aiman Dardari scored the decisive 3:2 (112th minute), in injury time Grigorijs Degtjarevs also scored into the empty goal against Dortmund who had moved up (120th 4). For the hosts it was the second title in the A-Juniors after 2009.
The Dortmund team around Bundesliga-experienced Tom Rothe and Dutch striker Julian Rijkhoff, on the other hand, missed their tenth title and their third in a row. BVB last became U19 champions in 2019 and 2022, in between the championships were not played due to the corona pandemic. Dortmund had defeated Hertha BSC in the semifinals, Mainz had reached the final against 1. FC Köln. VfB Stuttgart remains the U19 record winner with a total of ten titles.
Lovis Bierschenk (51st) and Dortmund captain Pharell Nnamdi Collins with an own goal (86th) gave the hosts the lead twice. Cole Campbell (83′) and U17 international Paris Brunner (88′) each equalized, which is why the game went into overtime. Both teams had chances to score there, Mainz used two of them to the celebrated victory.
DFB information on the endgame scheme for the game
