Lehmann party pooped by Portugal

With 93 minutes gone against Portugal last night, Matthias Lehmann could have been forgiven for letting his mind wander to a double post-match celebration.

'Last-gasp victory'
Germany were on the verge of the UEFA European Under-21 Championship semi-finals and he would be able to mark his 23rd birthday in style. Then, against the run of play and for all of Lehmann's defensive efforts in this tournament, João Moutinho struck to give the host nation a last-gasp victory that confirmed Serbia and Montenegro's progress along with France and meant the Germans joined Portugal in elimination.

'Tough defeat'
The TSV 1860 München midfielder has been described as a modern-day Dieter Eilts, and his mood afterwards was similar to that of his coach, who greeted the final whistle with a dramatic fall to the ground, head in hands. "This is a very tough defeat for us to take," Lehmann told uefa.com. "All of a sudden this has become my last match at Under-21 level and it hurts a lot especially considering we were undefeated during the qualification campaign.

No excuses
"We showed we were able to compete at the highest level and we cannot accuse anyone of not trying their best in this competition. It was very quiet in the dressing room and we discussed some of the things that happened during the match. It was not to be, but we do not have to hide behind excuses. You grow with every defeat and given that we have some younger players in the team who have some potential. I am sure this will make us a better team in future."