Stunning comeback shocks Germany

By David Farrelly at The Showgrounds

Two goals in three second-half minutes from Borko Veselinovic, added to a spectacular strike from Nebojša Marinkovic and Marko Markovski's stoppage-time effort, completed a remarkable comeback for Serbia and Montenegro as they defeated Germany in their opening Group A match of the 2005 UEFA European Under-19 Championship.

Unlikely outcome
A Serbo-Montenegrin victory seemed unlikely after the Germans monopolised possession and goalscoring opportunities during a one-sided opening 51 minutes, with captain Eugen Polanski and Mustafa Kukukovic registering either side of half-time. At that stage, a German win looked secure, only for the Serbo-Montenegrins to mount a devastating fightback.

Early dominance
Germany coach Ulrich Stielike played down his team's chances on the eve of the competition, but his charges showed no signs of an inferiority complex. Playing with two attacking wingers in the form of Florian Müller and Stephan Schröck, Germany dominated from the start with Kevin-Prince Boateng and Kukukovic twice going close in the first 15 minutes.

Jovic tested
Polanski then tested Aleksandar Jovic from 20 metres with a crisp half-volley before a one-two involving Ashkan Dejagah and Boateng almost broke the deadlock, only for Jovic to dive low to his right and gather the latter's shot. A German goal looked inevitable and one arrived in the 37th minute when Polanski picked up possession on the edge of the area after Florian Müller's initial foray and fired into the bottom corner of Jovic's goal.

Lead doubles
Stielike's side added a second six minutes after the interval when Kukukovic combined with Dejagah to beat Jovic. Up to that point, Serbia and Montenegro had rarely threatened Manuel Neuer in the Germany goal but reduced the deficit on 57 minutes, Marko Dalovic floating in a right-wing free-kick that Veselinovic nodded in.

Scores level
The Serbo-Montenegrin captain popped up again three minutes later to capitalise on confusion in the German defence and latch on to Marinkovic's pass before dribbling into an unguarded net. Serbia and Montenegro even had the luxury of missing a penalty after Nenad Lazarevski was upended by Sascha Dum, Neuer keeping out Veselinovic's spot-kick by diving low to his right.

Long-range effort
Further drama ensued as Marinkovic picked up possession 30 metres from goal to fire past Neuer, and Predrag Pavlovic's cross allowed Markovski to pick his spot and crown a remarkable revival. With Greece's 1-0 win against hosts Northern Ireland elsewhere today, Serbia and Montenegro have the early Group B lead and stay in Newry to play the hosts on Wednesday, when Germany take on Greece in Lurgan.