The German U16 national team lost its first game against the Finnish U16 A team 1:4 (1:0, 0:1, 0:3) on Friday evening.
The team of U16 national coach Stefan Mayer got off to a good start in Vierumäki, kept the game open in the first 20 minutes and had their own scoring opportunities. Kevin Niedenz used one of these to score the opening goal for the team in the 15th minute after preparatory work by Haakon Hänelt and Maxim Rausch. DEB-Selection.
After the first third break, however, the hosts took the reins and created a significant increase in chances. The statistics showed 20:9 shots on goal after 40 minutes of play - but only Samu Tuomaala was able to score for the Finns. So the German team went into the dressing room with a respectable success - the game was level after 40 minutes with the score 1-1.
The German team went into the final third with a penalty. Philip Feist had received a two-minute penalty 15 seconds before the end of the second period. The hosts took advantage of this just 32 seconds after the start of the final third through Verner Miettinen to completely turn the game around. Five minutes later, Saku Leskinen increased the score to 3:1 for the Finnish selection. U16 national coach Stefan Mayer brought an additional field player into the game for goalie Nikita Quapp two minutes before the end in order to mobilize the last offensive forces. But the Finns struck again on the other side with an empty-net goal by Rasmus Ruusunen and secured a 4:1 victory in the first meeting between the two U16 national teams. The second game will take place tomorrow, Saturday, at 15.00 p.m.
U16 national coach Stefan Mayer: “After the last tournament in Austria, we decided to improve our defensive work. Especially in this area there was a clear improvement today against strong Finns. We more than stood up to our opponents in the first third and made good relief attacks. In the second third the Finns increased the pressure and we lost our offensive grip. Nevertheless, we were able to present ourselves well overall and showed a good team performance.”
Germany: Quapp (Appler) – Wäser, Freis; Rausch, Mayr; Winkelmann, Ribnitzky; Klein, Bidoul – Heigl, Fischer, Feist; Niedenz, Hänelt, Cimmerman; Proske, Korte, Zap; Steck, Gorgenländer, Ellmaier
Penalty minutes: Finland 10 – Germany 6
Gates: 0:1 Niedenz (15th - Hänelt, Rausch), 1:1 Tuomaala (29th - Ahonen, Miettinen), 2:1 Miettinen (41st / PP - Tuomaala), 3:1 Leskinen (46th - Miettinen, Tuomaala ), 4:1 Ruusunen (59th / EN – Virolainen)
You can find all other statistics about the game HERE.