The German U16 national team lost its first of three games at the 2-nation tournament in Vierumäki (Finland). The team of U16 national coach Thomas Schädler lost to the hosts from Finland 2:5 (0:1, 1:1, 1:3).
The game started with attacks on both sides, the Finns made their first mark in the second minute with a shot on the crossbar and only a minute later scored through Otto Hokkanen to take the lead 0-1. A little later, Moritz Elias was narrowly denied by Topias Leinonen in the Finnish goal. In the fourteenth minute of the game, the German team received their first bench penalty, but the outnumbered formation stood well and had good support in Matthias Bittner in goal. Louis Herbrik had the equalizer on his stick a minute before the first break, but narrowly missed and so we went into the break with a narrow deficit.
The middle third began with another penalty on the German side, but the Finns were again unable to use their numerical advantage. Roman Kechter had the best German chance to date in the 25th minute of the game, but he was unable to put Maksim Anton's cross pass into the Finnish goal. Just a few seconds later, Moritz Elias did better. He lifted the puck at the short corner over Leinonen's shoulder to make it 1-1 and into the top corner. Just seventeen seconds later, Tommi Männistö restored Finland's lead. Almost five minutes before the second break, Moritz Elias could only be stopped by a foul. In the ensuing majority, Maksim Anton scored to equalize 2-2, but the goal was disallowed due to being offside. Shortly before the end, Louis Herbrik and Rik Gaidel one after the other pushed the disc past the empty goal and so the team of U16 national coach Thomas Schädler went into the last break with a narrow deficit.
Shortly after the restart, a German defender deflected a shot from Mika Mönkkönen into his own goal, making it unstoppable for Bittner. After five minutes, Louis Herbrik was completely free in front of Kalle Varis, who had since been substituted, but was unable to put the disc into the Finnish goal. Just a few moments later, Philip Ziesche shot just over the goal with a direct shot. During another German bench penalty in the 51st minute, Jani Nyman made it 1:4 for Finland. Tuomas Hynninen increased the score to 1:5 for Finland two minutes later. Fifteen seconds later, Roman Kechter put the final score on the game with 2:5 for Germany.
Thomas Schädler, U16 national coach: “We needed the first third to adapt to the Finns’ pace. After that we created good chances and were better defensively. Unfortunately, we lost the thread again in the final third and conceded some unfortunate goals. However, it is important to build on this achievement and continue to work on the guidelines.”
You can find all the statistics for the game HERE.