Post by dreamy on Sept 10, 2007 3:32:04 GMT 10
Wales have no answer to German class
Sep 9 2007
by Chris Wathan, Wales On Sunday
Wales 0-2 Germany
GERMANY had Klose – Wales were nowhere near.
Miroslav Klose struck with a goal in each half as the German captain showed the gap between the sides is as big as ever.
And Wales – for all their recent optimism – simply had no answer to the quality and class on offer from a team already with one foot in next year’s Euro 2008 finals.
On the face of it, Wales were not disgraced in terms of the result.
This is a team that, after all, have now managed 31 goals in their eight outings so far and lost just once since finishing third in the World Cup a year ago.
But make no mistake, Wales were outplayed and outclassed by a German team who, let’s be honest, didn’t get out of second gear.
The quickfire start from Klose’s sixth-minute opener made sure they could stroll to victory, a fact confirmed with the striker’s 60th minute second.
But while Wales were never expected to match Germany man for man, the system that had offered so much hope failed to pass the test at the top.
Wales at times looked as unorganised as ever, something that would not have been helped by Craig Bellamy’s absence.
The striker had missed the majority of the 48 hours before the game away at his ill new-born baby’s bedside.
It left Joe Ledley filling the midfield slot with Jason Koumas pushing into an advanced role.
Yet it didn’t happen that way since Koumas dropping deep left Freddy Eastwood isolated and Wales struggled to get a grip with things at all.
The hammer blow to Tosh’s plans came before they had time to adjust to the new system, Klose marking his 70th cap with his 34th goal for his country.
He took it as well as you would expect for a striker with those sort of ratios at international level, poking it early past Wayne Hennessey with the outside of the boot after receiving the ball inside the area from strike partner Kevin Kuranyi.
Frustratingly for Tosh, and annoyingly for those Welsh fans in the poor 25,000 crowd, the goal was so needless.
Standing just inside his own half, Koumas had enough time to pick out any one of his 10 colleagues, but instead he chose to hang onto the ball facing his own net, begging to be tackled.
His wish was granted as Thomas Hitzlsperger slid in, setting up the move to the goal.
From this point Wales were chasing shadows.
Passing with ability and confidence, Joachim Low’s side had made England look like mugs in a similar scenario just a few weeks ago.
They could wait for their chance with the superb Sebastian Schweinsteiger orchestrating matters from his central midfield role as his team-mates lay deep to seize on Welsh mistakes and impatience.
But Wales did find some rhythm, if not momentum, using Bale’s forward role down the left as an outlet.
Wales could have engineered a chance on the other flank after 15 minutes, Sam Ricketts’ cross finding Koumas unmarked just outside the box, but he hit high and wide of Jens Lehmann’s goal.
Simon Davies looked influential with the ball at feet, crossing for Bale on 22 minutes, but the Spurs starlet’s cheeky back heel failed to fool the German defence.
The problem for Davies, like the rest of his midfield, came when on the back foot.
All three of them struggled to cope when Schweinsteiger pushed forward from deep with precision and turn of pace, Lewin Nyatanga pulling out a great saving tackle to stop one such run ending in a Kuranyi goal.
Yet Nyatanga was the next to give away the ball cheaply six minutes from the break, Roberto Hilbert able to feed Klose, and it took a sliding effort from Collins to stop a Kuranyi shot.
A Bale cross in first-half injury-time did allow Freddy Eastwood to try and impose himself with a header, one of few scraps he had fed on in the opening period.
Toshack had to change things at half-time, bringing on Robert Earnshaw for Ledley and switching to a straight 4-4-2 as Bale moved back.
It allowed Wales to scrap man for man much easier and forced the Germans to work harder than the half pace they had kept themselves to so far.
But that seemed to tease Schweinsteiger to show just what an exceptional talent he is. One run left three Wales defenders standing and Hennessey could only watch the curling shot clip the top of the bar.
The attacks from Germany came slowly and steadily, each more cutting than the last and the second goal was inevitable.
This time it was Bale who had to take the blame. Tiring badly from his first-half excursions, he was too slow to react in possession close to his own box and was promptly robbed by Hilbert who crossed at the by-line for Klose to head home.
As Wales began to feel sorry for themselves, Klose could have snatched another, turning and hitting a shot from inside the box that the composed Hennessey did well to gather.
It was damage limitation time, made obvious when Tosh replaced the awful Koumas with Carl Fletcher – hardly a player to conjure a comeback, more likely one to help stem the tide.
It did that, but aside from a few fleeting moments as Earnshaw attacked, Wales were never even close.
Andy Rose marks John Toshack's men out of 10
Wayne Hennessey 7
THE rookie goalkeeper could do little to stop either German goal, but continued his learning curve by acquitting himself well for the rest of the game.
Sam Ricketts 5
ONe of the few Welshmen to emerge with any credit in the first half, but struggled to maintain his performance level after the break and started to struggle.
James Collins 5
PICKED up a ridiculous booking for berating the referee and was as guilty as the rest of the Welsh side of giving away possession in dangerous positions.
Danny Gabbidon 6
HAS barely played for West Ham this season and at times it showed. Not one of his better displays when the stand-in skipper needed to set the example.
Lewin Nyatanga 5
SEVERAL nervous moments with uncharacteristically poor distribution out of defence letting him down before he eventually settled into his game.
Joe Ledley 6
A SURPRISE inclusion following the withdrawal of Craig Bellamy and did very little wrong. Unfortunate to be the sacrificial lamb at half-time.
Simon Davies 6
AT the heart of his side’s brighter moments, but the Fulham midfielder was simply unable to impose himself on a dominant German midfield and faded as a result.
Carl Robinson 5
WORKED his socks off in the face of overwhelming odds in midfield, but to very little effect and was bypassed with ease time after time.
Gareth Bale 5
THE Tottenham youngster didn’t appear to know where he was playing early on and was often the furthest player forward. Robbed in possession for Germany’s second.
Jason Koumas 4
BADLY at fault for Klose’s opening goal, having lost possession in midfield – something he failed to learn from. Spent too much time blaming others.
Freddy Eastwood 5
PLOUGHED a lone furrow up front in the first half with no success and showed little understanding alongside Earnshaw after the break.
Substitutes
Earnshaw for Ledley (46), Fletcher for Koumas (67), Crofts for Davies (79).
Subs not used: Morgan, Llewelyn, Jones, Price
Germany
Lehmann 6, Friedrich 6, Mertesacker 6, Metzelder 6, Pander 6 (Trochowski 46), Hilbert 7, Schweinsteiger 9, Hitzlsperger 7, Jansen 6, Klose 8 (Helmes 87), Kuranyi 7 (Podolski 73). Subs not used: Hildebrand, Odonkor, Friedricj, Rolfes
Scorers
Wales: None
Germany: Klose (6, 60)
Bookings
Wales: Gabbidon 38, Collins 41
Germany: None
Referee and attendance
Referee: Manuel Gonzalez (Spain)
Attendance: 25,000
Man of the match
Bastian Schweinsteiger
The German playmaker was out on his own and controlled the game from start to end. His tricks and vision were backed up by his superb work rate and the only thing missing was a goal.
icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/0600soccer/0200news/tm_headline=wales-have-no-answer-to-german-class%26method=full%26objectid=19757752%26page=2%26siteid=50082-name_page.html
Sep 9 2007
by Chris Wathan, Wales On Sunday
Wales 0-2 Germany
GERMANY had Klose – Wales were nowhere near.
Miroslav Klose struck with a goal in each half as the German captain showed the gap between the sides is as big as ever.
And Wales – for all their recent optimism – simply had no answer to the quality and class on offer from a team already with one foot in next year’s Euro 2008 finals.
On the face of it, Wales were not disgraced in terms of the result.
This is a team that, after all, have now managed 31 goals in their eight outings so far and lost just once since finishing third in the World Cup a year ago.
But make no mistake, Wales were outplayed and outclassed by a German team who, let’s be honest, didn’t get out of second gear.
The quickfire start from Klose’s sixth-minute opener made sure they could stroll to victory, a fact confirmed with the striker’s 60th minute second.
But while Wales were never expected to match Germany man for man, the system that had offered so much hope failed to pass the test at the top.
Wales at times looked as unorganised as ever, something that would not have been helped by Craig Bellamy’s absence.
The striker had missed the majority of the 48 hours before the game away at his ill new-born baby’s bedside.
It left Joe Ledley filling the midfield slot with Jason Koumas pushing into an advanced role.
Yet it didn’t happen that way since Koumas dropping deep left Freddy Eastwood isolated and Wales struggled to get a grip with things at all.
The hammer blow to Tosh’s plans came before they had time to adjust to the new system, Klose marking his 70th cap with his 34th goal for his country.
He took it as well as you would expect for a striker with those sort of ratios at international level, poking it early past Wayne Hennessey with the outside of the boot after receiving the ball inside the area from strike partner Kevin Kuranyi.
Frustratingly for Tosh, and annoyingly for those Welsh fans in the poor 25,000 crowd, the goal was so needless.
Standing just inside his own half, Koumas had enough time to pick out any one of his 10 colleagues, but instead he chose to hang onto the ball facing his own net, begging to be tackled.
His wish was granted as Thomas Hitzlsperger slid in, setting up the move to the goal.
From this point Wales were chasing shadows.
Passing with ability and confidence, Joachim Low’s side had made England look like mugs in a similar scenario just a few weeks ago.
They could wait for their chance with the superb Sebastian Schweinsteiger orchestrating matters from his central midfield role as his team-mates lay deep to seize on Welsh mistakes and impatience.
But Wales did find some rhythm, if not momentum, using Bale’s forward role down the left as an outlet.
Wales could have engineered a chance on the other flank after 15 minutes, Sam Ricketts’ cross finding Koumas unmarked just outside the box, but he hit high and wide of Jens Lehmann’s goal.
Simon Davies looked influential with the ball at feet, crossing for Bale on 22 minutes, but the Spurs starlet’s cheeky back heel failed to fool the German defence.
The problem for Davies, like the rest of his midfield, came when on the back foot.
All three of them struggled to cope when Schweinsteiger pushed forward from deep with precision and turn of pace, Lewin Nyatanga pulling out a great saving tackle to stop one such run ending in a Kuranyi goal.
Yet Nyatanga was the next to give away the ball cheaply six minutes from the break, Roberto Hilbert able to feed Klose, and it took a sliding effort from Collins to stop a Kuranyi shot.
A Bale cross in first-half injury-time did allow Freddy Eastwood to try and impose himself with a header, one of few scraps he had fed on in the opening period.
Toshack had to change things at half-time, bringing on Robert Earnshaw for Ledley and switching to a straight 4-4-2 as Bale moved back.
It allowed Wales to scrap man for man much easier and forced the Germans to work harder than the half pace they had kept themselves to so far.
But that seemed to tease Schweinsteiger to show just what an exceptional talent he is. One run left three Wales defenders standing and Hennessey could only watch the curling shot clip the top of the bar.
The attacks from Germany came slowly and steadily, each more cutting than the last and the second goal was inevitable.
This time it was Bale who had to take the blame. Tiring badly from his first-half excursions, he was too slow to react in possession close to his own box and was promptly robbed by Hilbert who crossed at the by-line for Klose to head home.
As Wales began to feel sorry for themselves, Klose could have snatched another, turning and hitting a shot from inside the box that the composed Hennessey did well to gather.
It was damage limitation time, made obvious when Tosh replaced the awful Koumas with Carl Fletcher – hardly a player to conjure a comeback, more likely one to help stem the tide.
It did that, but aside from a few fleeting moments as Earnshaw attacked, Wales were never even close.
Andy Rose marks John Toshack's men out of 10
Wayne Hennessey 7
THE rookie goalkeeper could do little to stop either German goal, but continued his learning curve by acquitting himself well for the rest of the game.
Sam Ricketts 5
ONe of the few Welshmen to emerge with any credit in the first half, but struggled to maintain his performance level after the break and started to struggle.
James Collins 5
PICKED up a ridiculous booking for berating the referee and was as guilty as the rest of the Welsh side of giving away possession in dangerous positions.
Danny Gabbidon 6
HAS barely played for West Ham this season and at times it showed. Not one of his better displays when the stand-in skipper needed to set the example.
Lewin Nyatanga 5
SEVERAL nervous moments with uncharacteristically poor distribution out of defence letting him down before he eventually settled into his game.
Joe Ledley 6
A SURPRISE inclusion following the withdrawal of Craig Bellamy and did very little wrong. Unfortunate to be the sacrificial lamb at half-time.
Simon Davies 6
AT the heart of his side’s brighter moments, but the Fulham midfielder was simply unable to impose himself on a dominant German midfield and faded as a result.
Carl Robinson 5
WORKED his socks off in the face of overwhelming odds in midfield, but to very little effect and was bypassed with ease time after time.
Gareth Bale 5
THE Tottenham youngster didn’t appear to know where he was playing early on and was often the furthest player forward. Robbed in possession for Germany’s second.
Jason Koumas 4
BADLY at fault for Klose’s opening goal, having lost possession in midfield – something he failed to learn from. Spent too much time blaming others.
Freddy Eastwood 5
PLOUGHED a lone furrow up front in the first half with no success and showed little understanding alongside Earnshaw after the break.
Substitutes
Earnshaw for Ledley (46), Fletcher for Koumas (67), Crofts for Davies (79).
Subs not used: Morgan, Llewelyn, Jones, Price
Germany
Lehmann 6, Friedrich 6, Mertesacker 6, Metzelder 6, Pander 6 (Trochowski 46), Hilbert 7, Schweinsteiger 9, Hitzlsperger 7, Jansen 6, Klose 8 (Helmes 87), Kuranyi 7 (Podolski 73). Subs not used: Hildebrand, Odonkor, Friedricj, Rolfes
Scorers
Wales: None
Germany: Klose (6, 60)
Bookings
Wales: Gabbidon 38, Collins 41
Germany: None
Referee and attendance
Referee: Manuel Gonzalez (Spain)
Attendance: 25,000
Man of the match
Bastian Schweinsteiger
The German playmaker was out on his own and controlled the game from start to end. His tricks and vision were backed up by his superb work rate and the only thing missing was a goal.
icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/0600soccer/0200news/tm_headline=wales-have-no-answer-to-german-class%26method=full%26objectid=19757752%26page=2%26siteid=50082-name_page.html
