So Klose

Germany denied by Keane's late strike

Robbie Keane celebrates his dramatic late equalizer for Ireland. AP

IBARAKI, Japan (Reuters) -- Robbie Keane scored an equalizer deep into injury time to keep Ireland's World Cup hopes alive in a 1-1 draw with Germany on Wednesday.

The Irish looked to have lost, sending Germany through to the second round, after striker Miroslav Klose scored his fourth goal of the tournament to give the Germans a 1-0 lead at the end of normal time in group E.

But with seconds of injury time left, a nod-on by towering substitute Niall Quinn left Keane clear and he rapped the ball jubilantly home for a memorable equalizer.

Irish manager Mick McCarthy said: "What's the point of coming here and going out without a fight? Great result. I'm delighted for Quinny who got involved and, of course, Robbie gets his goal.

"We've given ourselves a chance, haven't we? We have to go and play Saudi. I'll be watching them tomorrow against Cameroon to see what happens. We're in with a chance." (McCarthy: Ireland has a chance)

Germany coach Rudi Voeller had to admit the Irish deserved their equalizer.

"We had an ideal start and at halftime we resolved not to give in to Irish pressure," he said. "It never worked out -- we were pushed far too deep and in the end we paid for it.

"On the other hand we still top the group and a win against Cameroon will take us through to the last 16." (Voeller admits Irish disrupted tactics)

German midfielder Carsten Ramelow said: "At 1-0 it was not enough. We knew we had to get a second goal to feel safe. In the end they equalised with practically the last touch of the game.

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"It was a great shame for us. But we tried everything... I think we played well but that's the sort of thing that can always happen. It shouldn't but it did."

Earlier, Klose, who fired a hat-trick in Germany's record-breaking 8-0 win over Saudi Arabia, had confirmed he could become one of the revelations of the tournament by scoring from a Michael Ballack cross in the 19th minute.

Fiery reputation

After overcoming the departure of captain Roy Keane for a 1-1 draw with Cameroon in its first game, Ireland lived up to its fiery reputation.

But it looked short of ideas and were hampered by defensive mistakes, most notably when Ian Harte failed to challenge Klose as he beat goalkeeper Shay Given for his fourth goal in the finals, the highest tally so far.

Germany recovered from a nervous start to control the game from midfield despite Ireland's best efforts to take the game to its opponent.

Match Statistics Germany     Ireland  1  Goals  1  9  Shots  8  3  Shots on goal  4  20  Fouls  21  2  Corner kicks  2  0  Penalty kicks  0  8  Offsides  4  0  Own goals  0  0  Yellow cards  0  0  Red cards  0  42%  Ball possession  58%  22  Actual playing time  30     Attendance: 35,854     MATCH SUMMARY

Striker Keane missed a bicycle kick just before the break, blowing what would have been a spectacular equalizer.

The combative Irishmen kept trying after the interval and were denied in the 57th minute by a brilliant save by Germany goalkeeper and captain Oliver Kahn from an close-range effort from striker Damien Duff.

Germany, which relied on a faultless performance from defense marshal Carsten Ramelow to shrug off Ireland's spirited but often clumsy challenge, came close to doubling its advantage when Jancker lobbed Given in the 58th minute, but the ball landed wide.

Klose remained dangerous, as he proved in the 77th minute with a header that flew over the bar, but failed to inflict further punishment on Ireland.

Ireland now faces Saudia Arabia in its final match in Yokohama on June 11 while Germany plays Cameroon on the same day in Shizuoka. The Africans take on Saudi Arabia first in Saitama on Thursday.

Score Summary:

Germany 1, Ireland 1 -- World Cup, Group E

Scorers: Germany -- Miroslav Klose 19, Ireland -- Robbie Keane 90

Halftime: 1-0; Attendance: 35,854

Teams: Germany (3-5-2): 1-Oliver Kahn; 2-Thomas Linke, 5-Carsten Ramelow, 21-Christoph Metzelder; 22-Torsten Frings, 8-Dietmar Hamann, 19-Bernd Schneider (16-Jens Jeremies 90), 13-Michael Ballack, 6-Christian Ziege; 11-Miroslav Klose (17-Marco Bode 85), 9-Carsten Jancker (20-Oliver Bierhoff 75)

Ireland (4-4-2): 1-Shay Given; 18-Gary Kelly (17-Niall Quinn 73), 14-Gary Breen, 5-Steve Staunton (4-Kenny Cunningham 88), 3-Ian Harte (21-Steven Reid 73); 2-Steve Finnan, 8-Matt Holland, 12-Mark Kinsella, 11-Kevin Kilbane; 9-Damien Duff, 10-Robbie Keane

Match referee: Kim Milton Nielsen (Denmark)

Linesmen: Jens Larsen (Denmark), Evzen Amler (Czech Republic)

 

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