Germany's new coach Joachim Loew says his side earned their 1-0 victory over the Republic of Ireland in their first qualifying match of the Euro 2008 campaign. "We're happy to have won the first game, it was hard," German sports magazine Kicker quoted Loew as saying on Saturday. "There were enough chances at the end that we earned this victory." A deflected strike by Bayern Munich's Lukas Podolski gave the World bronze-medalists a victory over resilient Ireland in Stuttgart. Germany captain Michael Ballack admitted the win wasn't accompanied by a beautiful show but said that in the three points were all that mattered. "That was a hard piece of work, but we played with great discipline," Ballack said. "There are no beauty prizes to win in qualifying. What counts is getting the three points." Both Ireland boss Steve Staunton and Loew made their competitive debuts in the match. While Loew, who succeeded Jurgen Klinsmann after the World Cup, kept cool during the game, Staunton was sent-off by the referee after an outburst. As Germany celebrate their win, Ireland gears up for their next qualifier against Cyprus on October 7.
