Unlucky Deflection Dooms Feisty Ireland In Germany

Euro 2008 Qualifiers
Germany 1 Republic Of Ireland 0

Supporters of Ireland were hoping for a better result than the recent 4 - 0 thumping by Holland but while the all-round performance was much better Ireland's quest for a place at the 2008 Euro Championships got off to the worst possible start in Stuttgart as the men in green went down 1 - 0 to Germany in the opening qualifying game in Group D. There was to be no repeat for Ireland of the famous night in Stuttgart 18 years ago when they had beaten England 1-0 in the finals of Euro 88. A deflected strike from Lukas Podolski off the heel of captain Robbie Keane was all that divided the teams in the opening Euro 2008 Group D qualifier in Stuttgart. The loss was added to by Ireland manager Steve Staunton's dismissal by Spanish referee Luis Medina Cantalejo in the 76th minute for what appeared to be an over use of vocabulary toward the official and kicking a water bottle along the touchline.

After the game Ireland captain Robbie Keane claimed Ireland were good enough to go to the Euro 2008 finals. "We're obviously disappointed we lost the game, particularly in the manner in which we did, he said. "I don't think it was a free-kick for them in the first place to be honest, but then the ref seemed to give a few things their way, but not for ourselves. I don't think I was offside for the goal I scored. Every decision seemed to go against us, but we can't make excuses. We can't blame the referee. We have to get over it, move forward and look forward to the next game by taking a lot of positives from this one. We played well. We showed passion, commitment, desire and we put in a lot of hard work. If we can do that in the future then we've a great chance. There's certainly a sense of optimism amongst the lads."

Germany captain, Michael Ballack claimed the German's goal was "lucky", and the Germans were "fortunate" not to find themselves behind when Robbie Keane headed wide early in the match. "They (Ireland) are a very good team and they were very strong, especially at the beginning," he said. "We did not start well and were lucky not to fall behind early. But after a while we also carved out a few opportunities so we simply had to stay patient.

"At some point the ball just hits the back of the net and you get rewarded," Ballack continued. "That is what happened. The ball took a lucky deflection and it went in. Ireland are no pushovers at all. This was hard work and the victory did not come easy."

Northern Ireland Played Off The Pitch By Iceland

Gone are the days of mighty Windsor when even England were put to the sword. Northern Ireland were played off the pitch as Iceland recorded a relatively easy 3 - 0 win against Lawrie Sanchez's men and with Spain up next things are looking bleak in terms of Euro 2008 qualification. Iceland scored in the 13th minute when Brynjar Gunnarsson played a ball over the top. Thorvaldsson reacted before Stephen Craigan and fired a shot into the corner. Iceland extended their lead in the 20th minute. Hermann Hreidarsson scored at back post after Johannes Gudjonsson's corner was not cleared. The visitors then made it 3-0 in the 36th minute when Gudjohnsen finished after a cross from Gretar Steinsson was only partially cleared.

Scots Gain Revenge Against The Faroes

Kris Boyd bagged a brace to help Scotland get their Euro 2008 campaign off to a flying start as they thrashed the Faroe Islands 6-0 at Parkhead. But Kenny Miller must have been the most relieved man inside the ground when Boyd stepped aside, after converting an early penalty, to allow his team-mate to score the fourth after 14 games without a Celtic goal. By that time the Group B whipping boys were dead and buried after early goals from Darren Fletcher and James McFadden. Substitute Garry O'Connor to come off the bench to round of the win.

Wales Fall To Late Winner

Wales fell to a late 2-1 defeat to Czech Republic as John Toshack's side were constantly under pressure in the Group D game despite two wasted chances by Craig Bellamy. David Lafata scored with 14 minutes left, with a suspicion the Czech substitute was offside when he scored. But the Welsh were rewarded for their spell of pressure when they appeared to have grabbed a point through David Rozehnal's own goal five minutes from time. However, Lafata scored his second late on to shatter the hopes of Toshack's brave troops.

A Walk In The Park For Rejuvinated England

Jermain Defoe and Peter Crouch scored two each as England began their European Championship qualifying campaign with a 5-0 win over Andorra. Steven Gerrard struck the other.