Maier helps take Germany higher

At half-time in Germany's UEFA European Women's Under-19 Championship semi-final with holders Russia last night the score was 0-0. Around nine minutes into the second period, with the Germans having stormed into a two-goal lead, Juliane Maier stepped up to take a free-kick but, a colleague having already run over the ball, the winger faked a shot. Ruling that action as unsporting behaviour, the referee booked Maier - who recovered her poise, took aim, and scored. From that moment on there could be no doubt that Germany were set for yet another final in this competition, and went on to win 4-0.

Meinert praise
Maier admits that she was fired up when she shaped to take the set-piece second time around. "I was a little bit angry, and so I shot the ball into the goal!" she told uefa.com. It was just reward for a great performance by Maier. In a closely-fought first half, the No11 caused all sorts of problems with her crosses from both open play and set-pieces. Coach Maren Meinert summed up the SV Titisee player's performance by saying: "I think Maier was dangerous in the first half with free-kicks and corners, and she had a good day. She is not speedy but she is good on the ball and has a good eye for the game."

'It's great'
The player is still coming to terms with the way yesterday's game unfolded. "It's great. I don't know what to say - it's fantastic," Maier said. "It was amazing, the ball just seemed to keep going into the goal." Meinert made two changes at the break, and both substitutes instantly scored, but the coach also galvanised Germany with her team-talk. "She said that we should keep trying," Maier revealed. "We know we are always strong in the second half, we knew that we would get space on the pitch. In the second half our midfield was very good, we got a lot of ball there - so it worked."

Learning every game
Germany began slowly in this competition, but having now secured two straight 4-0 wins will be in a good frame of mind when they return to Berne's Neufeld stadium for Saturday's final against France. Maier said: "We have learned a lot from every game. We knew what our mistakes were, and wanted to make it better so it would function. I am happy to get to the final, and I think we can win it."