Nine goals not enough for Germany
Sunday, July 19, 2009
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Germany 9-0 Belarus
A finals record victory was not enough to earn Germany a semi-final berth in Belarus as they missed out via head-to-head calculations.
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A finals record 9-0 victory against Belarus was not enough to earn Germany a place in the UEFA European Women's Under-19 Championship semi-finals as they missed out via head-to-head calculations in Group A.
Marozsan treble
Having lost to Switzerland last time out, Maren Meinert's side knew they had to defeat Belarus and hope their neighbours would do them a favour against France in order to maintain an impressive record which has seen them reach the last four in each of the last five final tournaments. Germany kept their half of the bargain – Dzenifer Marozsan setting them on their way to victory with a hat-trick inside ten minutes – only to be foiled by Les Bleuettes' 2-0 defeat of the Swiss.
Incredible start
An injury to captain Elena Zyuzkova forced the tournament hosts to reorganise at the back, but their new-look defence had no time to acclimatise as Marozsan scored for the rampant Germans in the sixth, seventh and tenth minutes. The skilful No10 displayed her full array of skills, calmly stroking in Marie-Louise Bagehorn's cross for the first, then slotting in a delightful free-kick, before finishing a one-on-one.
Ruthless Germany
The five-time champions continued to attack relentlessly, monopolising possession and scoring almost at will. Bagehorn helped herself to a fourth and, as Belarusian heads dropped, Stefanie Mirlach successfully converted a 27th-minute penalty. The competition debutants had given a good account of themselves in their first two fixtures, but they were totally outclassed by their ruthless opponents here, Svenja Huth (31) and Lena Wermelt (35) getting on the scoresheet before the interval.
Respite
There was some respite early in the second half before Alexandra Popp (62) got Germany going again. The ninth goal, scored by substitute Selina Wagner in the 77th minute, may have been a record-breaker – the previous highest victory in this competition was Germany's 8-0 rout of Russia in the 2004 semi-finals – but disappointment was the ultimate emotion as news filtered through of France's defeat of the Swiss.