Germany U19s won their friendly against Slovakia U19s. Guido Streichsbier’s team won 2-1 in Rüsselsheim, through goals from Nicolas Kühn and Maurice Malone. The win was a good conclusion to the first international break of the 2018/19 season for the U19s, having drawn 2-2 with Switzerland last Friday.
Both teams started cautiously in front of 2,358 fans in the Stadion am Sommerdamm. Captain Kühn had the first chance after 7 minutes, before Slovakia had two chances moments late, with David Strelec missing a golden chance for the visitors.
Kühn in the right place for 1-0
Germany U19s were back on top shortly after, with Kühn being denied by away keeper Alex Fojticket in the 25th minute. However Kühn was finally able to break the deadlock four minutes later. After a a cross from Karlsruhe man Eric Jansen, he was in the right place to tap home for 1-0. John Yeboah, Dennis Jastrzembski and Jean-Manuel Mbom had further chances to double Germany’s lead before the break, with Mbom coming the closest after hitting the bar.
Guido Streichsbier made four changes at the break, with the Germany U19s side keeping up their offensive danger. Maurice Malone, a striker at FC Augsburg, rewarded the team’s good play by doubling the lead in the 47th minute.
Germany dangerous going forward
Streichsbier’s boys carried on playing good attacking football, with substitute Roberto Massimo narrowly missing the Slovakian goal on 62 minutes. Malone almost had his second in the 69th minute, with keeper Fojticek denying him again. The Germany defence remained stable throughout.
It was then somewhat of a surprise that Slovakia brought themselves back into the game with a goal in the 77th minute. Strelec took his one-on-one chance against Früchtl this time, before narrowly missing the post with five minutes to go for the equaliser. Tobias Raschl then made a goal-line clearance in added time to secure the victory for Germany.
Germany U19s’ next games will take place in November, where they will take place in a four-nation tournament in Armenia. There they will face Portugal (14th November), the Netherlands (17th November) and the hosts Armenia (19th November).