Final flourish wins day for Württemberg
Saturday, December 11, 2010
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Württembergischer FV of Germany have qualified for the UEFA Regions' Cup finals at the expense of Gallega thanks to a dramatic 14-goal final day goal flurry in Malta.
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Württembergischer FV qualified in style from UEFA Regions' Cup intermediary round Group 1 following a 14-goal final day flourish in Malta.
Wolfgang Kopp's side reached next summer's final phase on goal difference after crushing Greek side Fthiodia 14-1 in their third group match at the Centenary Stadium to top Group 1 ahead of Gallega of Spain.
With Gallega on their way to a 6-0 defeat of hosts Malta at the National Stadium and seemingly destined for a place in the final phase, the German outfit needed to up their game to stand any chance of pipping the Spaniards. Württemberg managed just that, sealing qualification at the expense of Carlos Ballesta's team, with a flurry of goals in the final eight minutes of their match against their Greek opponents.
Julian Schwarz's hat-trick, doubles from Alexander Hirning, Maximilian Laible and Antonio Tunjic and strikes by Andreas Grimmer, Er Ferdi, Marlan Asch, Julian Grupp and Benjamino Molinari turned the tide in favour of the German representatives.
"Congratulations to my team for qualifying," said Kopp after the 14-1 triumph. "They got me what I wanted in this last match against Fthiodia – which was goals. I was disappointed by our lack of goals in the first two matches, but after scoring 14 against the Greeks I am very happy and delighted for my boys. They put on an amazing performance."
Württemberg and Gallega began their campaigns with wins on Tuesday, the German side mustering a narrow 1-0 success against Malta, thanks to Molinaro's solitary strike, while Gallega triumphed 3-1 against Fthiodia through goals from Javier Alvarez, Jesus Torres and Jose Souto.
On Thursday, an entertaining match between the German and Spanish sides finished 1-1, with substitute Alvarez cancelling out Asch's 13th-minute opener three minutes from time. With the other group game ending in a goalless draw, Württemberg and Gallega were locked on four points each going into their final group games, which were consequently required to start simultaneously.