Edin Terzic and Sebastian Kehl only agreed on one point: Borussia Dortmund’s unimaginative performance in the 0-0 draw at Bundesliga promoted team 1. FC Heidenheim was not a step backwards for either the coach or the sports director. “Definitely not. It was a small step forward – that’s how I would put it,” said Kehl, referring to the three wins in a row before. “We have improved, are in a better position in the table and are playing better and more flexible football.”
However, there was little to be seen of a constructive presentation of the ball by the strong home team from Heidenheim, who scored 18 of their 24 points in the Voith Arena. As was often the case in the preliminary round, BVB’s performance left a lot to be desired. To the coach’s annoyance. “That’s not enough for what we set out to do. We could have taken the next step with a win and we didn’t succeed,” said Terzic. He viewed the performance as a “step aside.”
BVB was unable to put the Bundesliga top trio under pressure with the draw. Kehl found that the team, which was severely weakened by replacements, had developed too little impact. But he also asked for understanding. “If you have to replace nine people, then of course it’s a bloodletting,” he said. “In the end you can’t compensate for that, no team can do that. However, that’s not the only reason why we’re drawing here.”
Among other things, winter newcomer Jadon Sancho (muscular problems) and the sick Marco Reus, Gregor Kobel and Julian Brandt were not available. They should start training again as soon as possible and should therefore also be options for the home game on Friday evening (8.30 p.m./DAZN) against SC Freiburg.
Terzic expects more from the representatives. “Now we have a phase in which the boys who were recently dissatisfied because they played less are getting their chance. We are not satisfied with that because there was clearly not enough in many areas and in many positions,” said the 41 year old
There were also careless mistakes in the build-up to the game, such as that by Salih Özcan, whose bad pass almost led to Heidenheim’s Tim Kleindienst making it 0-1. Borussia cannot afford to make such lapses more often, because other clubs punish such mistakes.
After all: BVB’s will and commitment could not be denied. And if Donyell Malen hadn’t been just offside when the score was supposed to be 1-0 (26′), “the game would have been completely different,” said national striker Niclas Füllkrug. But he also stated: “That’s not enough for us, we wanted more and have planned more. But that can happen sometimes.”
Kehl can also correctly assess the small damper. “We don’t have to beat around it: Of course we can improve. But we are on the right track, it’s a process that we initiated in the winter with a variety of changes. I won’t let this development be ruined,” he said.
