Early blows leave England too big a task to overcome

Germany women 3 England women 1

England's women footballers have now played the five-times European champions Germany on 12 occasions, and this was their 12th defeat.

When they last met, at the European Championship finals, which Germany won on home soil during the summer, England went down 3-0 following a spell of three goals in 11 second half minutes. Back in Germany and taking their inspiration from the 5-1 beating Sven Goran Eriksson's England handed the German men four weeks ago, Hope Powell's team were quietly confident of producing a mould-breaking result in this World Cup qualifier.

The captain Tara Proctor, the Charlton Athletic midfielder, had even been sleeping in a T-shirt commemorating the Munich victory as a good luck charm. But another three-goal burst, this time crushingly in the opening 11 minutes, so undermined England that it took until the second half for them to make any notable contribution to the match.

The substitute Rachel Yankey pulled a goal back in the 48th minute and the Doncaster Belles striker Karen Walker unluckily sent a header against the crossbar 14 minutes from time. But despite England having the better of the second period until the closing stages, the home side always looked to have something in reserve as they collected three points from the first of Group Four's qualifying ties.

Germany are one of the world's top three nations but they were much-changed from their European Championship winning team, three key players having retired while a further two were unavailable through injury. But against an England line-up identical to the one which they beat in June, the home side's new players slotted in smoothly as Powell's team were over-run in a one-way start to the proceedings.

The Kassel-born Martina Müller sent the locals wild when she shot the Germans into a fourth-minute lead, then Müller's strike partner Sandra Smisek scored twice from close range in the following seven minutes.

The Fulham striker Yankey reduced the arrears with a fine 18-yard drive three minutes after entering the fray as a half-time substitute, and a late fightback might just have transpired had Walker's looping 76th-minute header hit the net instead of the bar. But Germany finished strongly and in the final minute the Charlton Athletic goalkeeper Pauline Cope had to make the last of several fine saves she pulled off during yet another defeat to the Germans.

ENGLAND (4-4-2): Cope (Charlton Athletic); Murphy (University of Florida), White (Arsenal), Chapman (Fulham), Unitt (Fulham); Burke (Doncaster Belles), Britton (Leeds Utd), Proctor (Charlton Athletic), Smith (Tranmere); Walker (Doncaster Belles), Smith (Philadelphia Charge). Substitutes: Hall (Doncaster Belles),

Exley (Doncaster Belles), Yankey (Fulham), Barr (Everton), Fletcher (Charlton Athletic), Hunt (Charlton Athletic), Pealling (Arsenal).

GERMANY (4-4-2): Rottenburg (Brauweiller); Stegemann (Heike Rheine), Hingst (Turbine Potsdam), Kunzer (Frankfurt), Minnert (Frankfurt); Wunderlich (Frankfurt), Omilade (Brauweiller), Lingor (Frankfurt), Prinz (Frankfurt; Smisek (Frankfurt), Müller (Bad Neuenahr). Substitutes: Angerer (Turbine Potsdam), Wunderlich (Frankfurt), Zerbe (Brauweiller), Hagedorn (Bad Neuenahr), Meier (Frankfurt), Pohlers (Turbine Potsdam), Wimbersky (Bayern Munich).

Referee: V Karlsen (Norway).