Germany too strong for Armenia
Tuesday, 21 March 2006
by Steffen Potter
from Frankfurt
Germany recovered from conceding an early goal to the
Armenia senior team to win their latest warm-up match
for the UEFA European Under-21 Championship 3-1 in
Ahlen.
Slick football
Having been beaten 2-1 by a Latvia side who qualified
for UEFA EURO 2004′ last month, Dieter Eilts’s side
got back on track by performing impressively at the
Wersestadion, despite Aram Hakobyan putting the
visitors ahead in the seventh minute. Germany
initially struggled to regroup, but were playing some
slick football by the time 1. FC Nürnberg’s Stefan
Kiessling converted a David Odonkor cross in the 36th
minute.
Fine finish
Germany assumed full control after the break and
created plenty of scoring opportunities. Captain
Christian Schulz led by example in the 58th, scoring
with a drive from range which left Armenia goalkeeper
Gevorg Kasparov without a hope. Malik Fatih made it
3-1 with eleven minutes remaining, ensuring a
comfortable end to the game for the home side.
‘Room for improvement’
Eilts said: “We saw the team change its approach
during the match, and once we found our groove we
showed considerably more spirit. However, there is
still room for improvement.” Germany next tackle
fellow finalists the Netherlands on 17 May, a week
before both teams depart for Portugal.
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