Injury-time cure for Germany

With the clock ticking into injury time and 10-man Poland hanging on desperately for a goalless draw...

With the clock ticking into injury time and 10-man Poland hanging on desperately for a goalless draw, not one German in the 65,000 capacity Westfalenstadion would have given up hope.

Their faith was rewarded when Oliver Neuville slid in to convert fellow substitute David Odonkor8217;s cross and secure the hosts their second win of the tournament.

The last-gasp goal broke Polish hearts but they can have few complaints. Radoslaw Sobolewski8217;s sending off for a second yellow card after a mild collision with Miroslav Klose was harsh but the Poles had already long settled for what they hoped would be a draw.

Goalkeeper Artur Boruc was booked for time-wasting and his team mates appeared to lose interest in looking for a winner from early in the second half. It was a mystifying approach for a team who had lost their opener 2-0 to Ecuador as, even if they had drawn on Wednesday, another Ecuador win against Costa Rica on Thursday would have consigned the Poles to a second successive first round exit.

Germany, conversely, never ease off and their glorious footballing history is littered with remarkable comebacks. It was a tradition that began when they recovered from two goals down to beat all-conquering Hungary and win their first World Cup in 1954. It was in evidence again for their second when they overcame the highly-fancied Netherlands 2-1 in 1974 having conceded in the first minute and also saw them reach the 1982 final after trailing France 3-1 in extra-time in the semis.

Instead of holding their heads in their hands though, Germany8217;s players won the ball back and calmly built another attack that ended with Neuville sliding in the 91st-minute decider.

429 arrested

NUREMBERG: German police are in for a tough time ahead, as five days of soccer calm ended in a torrent of thrown bottles and chairs in Dortmund where Germany beat Poland 1-0 on Thursday. More than 429 German and Polish hooligans were arrested in the city Wednesday, although only three are still in custody. Of the 429 fans arrested Wednesday, 278 were German, 119 were Polish and the others came from different European countries that were not listed separately. While much of the focus was on the English, Dutch and Polish, it was homegrown fans behind Wednesday8217;s worst single incident, accounting for 120 arrests. Officers came up against men throwing bottles and chairs and shooting fireworks, Dortmund police said. AP

Mitch Phillips