Bundesliga
Bundesliga
18.11.2009 23:22:27
Lukas Podolski puts Germany ahead against the Ivorians from the penalty spot.
Podolski rescues draw for Germany
Lukas Podolski struck twice in Germany's 2-2 draw with the Ivory Coast in Gelsenkirchen to cap off a desperate week for the die Nationalmannschaft after Robert Enke's death. Podolski's second goal came as a 92nd equaliser, after the striker had originally given Germany an early lead.
Joachim Löw's side could have been forgiven for still being more than a little bit distracted following last week's tragic death of goalkeeper Robert Enke. Indeed, with the loss of prolific striker Miroslav Klose as a precautionary measure following the quarantine of his children due to swine flu, Germany gave a slightly below par performance, and had to be saved by Lukas Podolski's 92nd minute equaliser after giving away a 1-0 lead.
Early penalty
It had started well for the home side; Piotr Trochowski played through Stefan Kießling who was tripped by Hamburger SV defender Guy Demel. Lukas Podolski comfortable stroked home the penalty past Zogbo to put Germany 1-0 ahead.
Trochowski could have doubled Germany's lead just before half-time, but his effort from the edge of the box came off the right-hand post on 44 minutes.
Bizarre equaliser
Following the sad death of Robert Enke, Löw began his search for a new first choice goalkeeper by giving Werder Bremen veteran Tim Wiese and Schalke 04 goalkeeper Manuel Neuer a half each.
Wiese managed to keep a clean sheet, but unfortunately for Manuel Neuer, his night was tarnished by a curious mix-up with fellow Schalke 04 teammate Heiko Westermann on 55 minutes; the defender tried to pass the ball back to the goalkeeper, but Neuer had little time to react and slammed the ball into the oncoming Emmanuel Eboue's groin before the ball trundled past Neuer into the bottom corner.
As the second half wore on, Löw used the opportunity to test out one or two players as he began to fine-tune his side ahead of next year's World Cup finals; Hoffenheim's Andreas Beck, Wolfsburg's Marcel Schäfer, FC Bayern's Mario Gomez and Werder Bremen's Aaron Hunt were all given an opportunity to impress as they appeared as second half susbstitions.
Podolski late strike
On 84 minutes though, Seydou Doumba, who plys his trade with Swiss side Young Boys Bern, was able to wade his way through some lightweight German defending to slot home past Neuer and grab waht seemed like a surprise winner.
But it was Lukas Podolski who put smiles back on German faces after a desperate week, as the FC Köln striker swiveled and struck low and hard to the left of Zogbo to salvage a draw at the death.
Given the circumstances, it was a good performance by Germany, against an Ivory Coast side who caused problems even without superstar striker Didier Drogba.
Joe Dibben
Early penalty
It had started well for the home side; Piotr Trochowski played through Stefan Kießling who was tripped by Hamburger SV defender Guy Demel. Lukas Podolski comfortable stroked home the penalty past Zogbo to put Germany 1-0 ahead.
Trochowski could have doubled Germany's lead just before half-time, but his effort from the edge of the box came off the right-hand post on 44 minutes.
Bizarre equaliser
Following the sad death of Robert Enke, Löw began his search for a new first choice goalkeeper by giving Werder Bremen veteran Tim Wiese and Schalke 04 goalkeeper Manuel Neuer a half each.
Wiese managed to keep a clean sheet, but unfortunately for Manuel Neuer, his night was tarnished by a curious mix-up with fellow Schalke 04 teammate Heiko Westermann on 55 minutes; the defender tried to pass the ball back to the goalkeeper, but Neuer had little time to react and slammed the ball into the oncoming Emmanuel Eboue's groin before the ball trundled past Neuer into the bottom corner.
As the second half wore on, Löw used the opportunity to test out one or two players as he began to fine-tune his side ahead of next year's World Cup finals; Hoffenheim's Andreas Beck, Wolfsburg's Marcel Schäfer, FC Bayern's Mario Gomez and Werder Bremen's Aaron Hunt were all given an opportunity to impress as they appeared as second half susbstitions.
Podolski late strike
On 84 minutes though, Seydou Doumba, who plys his trade with Swiss side Young Boys Bern, was able to wade his way through some lightweight German defending to slot home past Neuer and grab waht seemed like a surprise winner.
But it was Lukas Podolski who put smiles back on German faces after a desperate week, as the FC Köln striker swiveled and struck low and hard to the left of Zogbo to salvage a draw at the death.
Given the circumstances, it was a good performance by Germany, against an Ivory Coast side who caused problems even without superstar striker Didier Drogba.
Joe Dibben
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