Post by Janjoon-Lebanese on Oct 12, 2006 7:06:21 GMT -5
Wednesday, 2006-10-11
Germany preserve perfect record ;D ;D
There seems to be no end to the recent success story of the German national team. In his fifth game in charge, away to Slovakia, new coach Joachim Löw saw his side concede a goal for the first time - but it didn't matter much as the visitors put on a display of great attacking football, especially before the break, and scored four goals to win 4-1. Michael Ballack headed home the second one, which basically put the match beyond doubt, the other goals were netted by Bastian Schweinsteiger and Lukas Podolski (2). Germany now have the full nine points from three Euro 2008 qualifiers and remain on course for the finals.
Germany dominated the hosts in every area of the pitch from the first whistle on. The defence was solid, the midfield inventive, the attack dangerous - thus Germany played their best away game in a long time at the very ground where the side had been beaten 2-0 only 13 months ago.
Slovakia fielded their trio of established Bundesliga pros (Marek Mintal and Robert Vittek from Nuremberg and Wolfsburg's Miroslav Karhan), but the team appeared nervous and over-matched during the first half. Miroslav Klose and Podolski took on four defenders after 13 minutes, none of whom could prevent Klose's pass or Podolski's cold-blooded finish. During the next seven minutes Germany could have easily added to their lead, as Podolski twice set up Klose. First the Bremen striker narrowly missed with a header, then he was brought down, though the referee waved play-on.
So it fell to the captain to score the crucial second goal. On 25 minutes, left back Philipp Lahm crossed for Ballack to make it 2-0 with a fine flying header (see picture). It was Ballack's 34th goal for Germany, which equals Ulf Kirsten's career numbers and made Ballack climb into eighth place in the all-time rankings. What's more, Ballack then also made the third goal: The Slovakian goalkeeper Contofalsky couldn't hold on to this shot, and Schweinsteiger put the rebound away (36').
Understandably, Germany stepped down a gear during the second half. The hosts scored a consolation goal after 58 minutes when Jens Lehmann came out to collect a free kick but was beaten to the ball by Stanislav Varga who headed into an open net. There were a few scary moments for the Germans during the next minutes, but they finally hit Slovakia on the break: Klose raced down the wing and fed Podolski, whose casual tap-in made it 4-1 (72').
Germany preserve perfect record ;D ;D
There seems to be no end to the recent success story of the German national team. In his fifth game in charge, away to Slovakia, new coach Joachim Löw saw his side concede a goal for the first time - but it didn't matter much as the visitors put on a display of great attacking football, especially before the break, and scored four goals to win 4-1. Michael Ballack headed home the second one, which basically put the match beyond doubt, the other goals were netted by Bastian Schweinsteiger and Lukas Podolski (2). Germany now have the full nine points from three Euro 2008 qualifiers and remain on course for the finals.
Germany dominated the hosts in every area of the pitch from the first whistle on. The defence was solid, the midfield inventive, the attack dangerous - thus Germany played their best away game in a long time at the very ground where the side had been beaten 2-0 only 13 months ago.
Slovakia fielded their trio of established Bundesliga pros (Marek Mintal and Robert Vittek from Nuremberg and Wolfsburg's Miroslav Karhan), but the team appeared nervous and over-matched during the first half. Miroslav Klose and Podolski took on four defenders after 13 minutes, none of whom could prevent Klose's pass or Podolski's cold-blooded finish. During the next seven minutes Germany could have easily added to their lead, as Podolski twice set up Klose. First the Bremen striker narrowly missed with a header, then he was brought down, though the referee waved play-on.
So it fell to the captain to score the crucial second goal. On 25 minutes, left back Philipp Lahm crossed for Ballack to make it 2-0 with a fine flying header (see picture). It was Ballack's 34th goal for Germany, which equals Ulf Kirsten's career numbers and made Ballack climb into eighth place in the all-time rankings. What's more, Ballack then also made the third goal: The Slovakian goalkeeper Contofalsky couldn't hold on to this shot, and Schweinsteiger put the rebound away (36').
Understandably, Germany stepped down a gear during the second half. The hosts scored a consolation goal after 58 minutes when Jens Lehmann came out to collect a free kick but was beaten to the ball by Stanislav Varga who headed into an open net. There were a few scary moments for the Germans during the next minutes, but they finally hit Slovakia on the break: Klose raced down the wing and fed Podolski, whose casual tap-in made it 4-1 (72').
GO GO GO GO MANCSHAFFT
