CHRISTCHURCH – Germany defeated Ghana 3-2 in Christchurch to become the first team to advance to the New Zealand 2008 quarter-finals.

But the Europeans were made to earn their victory as Ghana fought back impressively in the second half.

Ghana had learnt the lessons of the Germans’ game against Costa Rica, and opted for a five-man defence to contain Germany’s attacking talent.

However, after only five minutes the Ghanaian back-line was breached, when Tabea Kemme was fouled by Linda Eshun inside the box. Dzsenifer Marozsan expertly slotted home the penalty.

Ghana reacted well, with Florence Dadson, Deborah Afriyie and Juliet Acheampong all having chances in the following minutes, only to find Valeria Kleiner in defiant mood in the German defence.

On 35 minutes, however, Germany went further ahead when the irrepressible Marozsan scored her fourth goal of the tournament, from a corner.

The second half was a thrilling, end-to-end affair. Germany’s Alexandra Popp twice struck the bar in the 50th minute, before having another shot saved by Ghanaian keeper Patricia Mantey.

It was Ghana who scored the first goal of the half, however, with German keeper Anna Sarholz fumbling Isha Fordjour’s left-wing cross into the path of Dadson.

Leonie Maier restored the Germans’ two-goal cushion with a surging run down the right and a powerful shot which eluded Mantey. But another misjudgement from Sarholz gave Fordjour a goal four minutes from the close, and the Germans saved the three points by the skin of their teeth.

German double goal scoring star Dzsenifer Marozsan now leads the golden boot standings at the tournament and is happy with her contribution to her team.

"We weren’t expecting to suffer quite so much but Ghana showed they are a very good side.

"On a personal note four goals in two games shows that I’m feeling really good out here, and a lot of that is down to the atmosphere in the stands.

"Scoring direct from a corner wasn’t much of a surprise for me as I’ve done it three times before."

Ghana Coach Abraham Allotey said he was happy with the way his team performed.

"Even though we lost, I thought we played a very good game, and I’ve got no reason to be angry about anything. We kept going right up to the last minute.

"We were expecting to face a solid team and that’s just what we got, but, even so, it was much tougher than we anticipated."

Photo courtesy of FIFA Media/Foto-net

FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup – New Zealand 2008

 

Ghana (0) 2 (Dadson 65’; Fordjour 86’;)

Germany (2) 3 (Marozsan 5’,35’; Maier 69’;

QE II Stadium

Christchurch

New Zealand

Saturday 1 November 2008

Kick-off: 13h00

Attendance:

GHA: 16. Patricia MANTEY [gk]; 2. Henrietta ANNIE (3. Edem ATOVOR 46’); 4. Linda ESHUN, 6. Elizabeth CUDJOE; 7. Juliet ACHEAMPONG, 8. Elizabeth ADDO (11. Isha FORDJOUR 46’), 9. Florence DADSON, 10. Mercy MYLES © (63’), 12. Mantenn KOBBLAH, 14. Deborah AFRIYIE (19. Candice OSEI-AGYEMANG 65’), 15. Rosemary AMPEM.

Substitutes Not Used: 1. Margaret OTOO [rgk], 21. Linda ABOAGYE [rgk], 5. Ellen COLEMAN, , 13. Priscilla OKINE, 17. Abena AMPOMAH, 18. Samira SULEMAN, 20. Priscilla SAAHENE.

Yellow cards: Linda ESHUN 5’;

Red cards: None

Coach: Abraham ALLOTEY (GHA)

GER: 1. Anna SARHOLZ [gk]; 3. Inka WESLEY, 4. Valeria KLEINER ©, 5. Carolin SIMON, 6. Marie-Louise BAGEHORN, 8. Lynn MESTER (19. Claudia GOTTE), 9. Tabea KEMME (14. Ivana RUDELIC 81’) 10. Dzsenifer MAROZSAN  11. Alexandra POPP, 17. Isabelle LINDEN (18. Svenja HUTH 46’) 20. Leonie MAIER;

Substitutes Not Used: 2. Angelina LUEBCKE; 12. Almuth SCHULT [rgk]; 13. Julia DEBITSKI;; 21. Lisa SCHMITZ [rgk] 7. Turid KNAAK; Nicole ROSLER 15. Hasret  KAYICKI ,16. ROLSER;

Yellow cards: None

Red cards: None

Coach: Ralf PETER (GER)

Referee: Kirsi SAVOLAINEN (FIN)

Assistant Referee 1: Tonja PAAVOLA (FIN)

Assistant Referee 2: Anu JOKELA (FIN)

Fourth Official: Natalia AVDONCHENKO (RUS)