Italy celebrate historic victory
Friday, July 25, 2003
Article summary
Germany 0-2 Italy Elisabetta Tona and Agnese Ricco struck in the first half to deny Germany.
Article body
Italy proved that their perfect qualifying record was no fluke by defeating a German side bidding for a fourth successive title 2-0 in their opening UEFA European Women's Under-19 Championship match at the Sportzentrum Taucha.
First-half goals
The Italians were the only side to advance to the final round in Leipzig by winning all three of their second qualifying round games, and they built on that success against Germany, a side much fancied to continue their dominance of this competition. It was Italy's first-half showing which brought goals for Elisabetta Tona and Agnese Ricco that saw them join England, who beat Sweden 2-1, at the top of Group B.
Excellent crowd
Backed by an excellent crowd of 2,250, Germany took the game to their opponents and created chances which they ultimately could not convert. In the eleventh minute Karolin Thomas was presented with an opening but she could only fire narrowly wide when well placed. Janina Haye was the next to go close although her header did not really trouble Italy goalkeeper Chiara Marchitelli.
Tona opener
With 20 minutes gone Italy were celebrating going ahead. A corner was swung in which deceived Nadine Richter in the German goal, allowing Tona to tap in for a simple opener. With a goal in the bag, Elisabetta Bavagnoli's side continued to play on the counterattack, launching forays forward whenever they had snuffed out a German attack.
Supreme effort
Their supreme effort in defence was epitomised by the defending of Tona, who showed bravery and technique to deny Christine Schoknecht what looked a certain goal in the 37th minute. From the resulting corner, the Italian back line cleared another chance. Rather than being on terms, Germany found themselves 2-0 down within a couple of minutes as Ricco beat Richter with a fine low drive.
Mittag chances
The second half continued in much the same vein, Anja Mittag, Germany's most experienced player, going close in the 49th minute and the 70th, when she hit the crossbar. The effort summed up Germany's day and they will have to be more ruthless when they take on Sweden, who lost 2-1 to England, on Sunday. The two winners will meet in a game to be played simultaneously.
