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Defending champs draw Germany starts with 1-1 tie against Romania
Posted: Monday June 12, 2000 03:13 PM
LIEGE, Belgium (AP) -- Germany started the defense of its European title on wobbly legs Monday, escaping with a 1-1 draw against Romania, which exposed the Germans' woeful defense all through the match yet failed to clinch victory. Romania stunned the Germans in the fifth minute when defender Thomas Linke failed to intercept a deep ball and allowed Adrian Ilie through to pass to the unmarked Viorel Moldovan in the goalmouth. The Romanian forward only had to tap it home. After creaking under Romanian pressure for 27 minutes, Germany hit back just as surprisingly when Mehmet Scholl sent a swerving 20-meter drive past the unsighted and flatfooted Bogdan Stelea, burying it in the top left corner. "That first goal shocked us," said German captain Oliver Bierhoff. In the battle of veterans Gheorghe Hagi and Lothar Matthäus, neither impressed. The 35-year-old Romanian made some dangerous moves early but tired quickly, while Matthäus, 39, mainly created danger for his own defense by playing out of position. "We played well and it was a great start to the tournament for us," said Hagi, draped in Matthäus' shirt after the game. In the other group A game England played Portugal in Eindhoven, Netherlands. "Romania had few chances and they came mostly as a result of our mistakes," said German coach Erich Ribbeck. "If you look at the whole game, the one point is justified. We played well in the first half-time and managed to draw level. In the second, some guys ran out of steam," he said. "At least in phases we showed that we can play good soccer and create chances," Ribbeck said. "It's quite possible that a couple of new players come in on Saturday," when Germany plays England, Ribbeck said. After the stunning opener, Romania continued to grip the Germans by the throat. Germany's vaunted organizaion was nowhere in evidence and Matthäus, supposedly the defensive master, was giving his team no leadership and even less direction. He wandered over much of the pith but was never in evidence to plug the huge holes that Romanians readily exploited. Up front too, he failed to make a contribution. Germany's defense basically came down to Jens Nowotny, who had all hands full correcting his teammates' mistakes. In front of a capacity 30,000-crowd at the Sclessin stadium, Germany was in total disarray for a half hour and goalie Oliver Kahn, was forced to make two dangerous forays well of his line to limit the early damage. In return, German action was limited to a powerful header from Oliver Bierhoff, which took an excellent reflex save from Stelea to deflect out of danger. Stelea was less lucky on Germany's equalizer. Scholl's goal changed the momentum of the game and Germany gradually started seeing more of the ball. But pushing forward, only left the German defense stretched to the limit. In the 41st minute, a deep ball from Hagi to Ilie yet again left the Germans exposed and Nowotny appeared to clip Ilie's foot in the penalty area. Hagi and Ilie were given both yellow for protesting Kim Milton Nielsen's controversial decision. "I won't comment on it," said Hagi with a wry smile. At half-time, Germany was extremely lucky to be still in with a shot at victory. And Bierhoff could have made the difference six minutes into the second half with another strong header, Stelea was beaten, but it clipped the outside of the post. From then on, the game settled into an untidy rhythm, with the German defense still struggling to get organized. "In the second half we started breaking out much better," said Oliver Bierhoff. But Romania remained dangerous. Moldovan should have gotten a second goal in the 68th minute. Iie had drawn Kahn from his line and when the ball bounced loose, Moldovan first shot weakly at a defender and sent the rebound wide. After Hagi was replaced in the 73rd minute, the tired, old master was left biting hs nails in the dugout. Matthäus too was substituted before the end. Lineups: Germany : Oliver Kahn; Markus Babbel, Jens Novotny, Lothar Matthäus, Thomas Linke (46, Marko Rehmer); Jens Jeremies, Christian Ziege, Thomas Haessler (73, Dietmar Hamann), Mehmet Scholl; Oliver Bierhoff, Paolo Rink. Romania: Bogdan Stelea; Gheorghe Popescu, Liviu Ciobotariu, Iulian Filipescu; Dan Petrescu (69, Cosmin Contra), Constantin Galca, Dorinel Munteanu, Cristian Chivu, Gheorghe Hagi (73, Adrian Mutu), Viorel Moldovan (85,Ioan Lupescu), Adrian Ilie.
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