Halfar flurry fuels Germany
Monday, March 28, 2005
Article summary
Latvia 0-4 Germany A hat-trick from Daniel Halfar helps Germans take a huge step towards qualification.
Article body
A first-half hat-trick from Daniel Halfar helped Germany take a huge step towards qualification for the UEFA European Under-17 Championship finals in May by defeating and eliminating Latvia in Elite round Group 7 on Monday.
Half-hour hat-trick
Germany took the lead on six minutes when Halfar connected with a Manuel Konrad cross to head in and the 1. FC Kaiserslautern youngster doubled the lead six minutes later. By the 32-minute mark, Halfar had completed his hat-trick after being put through by Sergej Evljuskin's neat pass.
Tyrala strike
Sebastian Tyrala sealed a comfortable win for the Group 7 hosts in the dying seconds and with the Netherlands slipping to a 2-1 defeat against the Czech Republic in Forst, Germany only need a draw against the Dutch on Wednesday to book their place at the finals in Italy. Latvia need to overcome the Czechs to have any chance of avoiding finishing in fourth.
Daniel delight
"We knew that an early goal would aid our cause and luckily enough we got two," said German coach Jörg Daniel. "I believe that we are in with a very good chance of getting the point we need against the Netherlands on Wednesday."
