Soccer-Germany outclass Slovakia in 4-1 victory

BRATISLAVA, Oct 11 (Reuters) - Lukas Podolski scored a pair of goals as Germany outclassed Slovakia 4-1 in their Group D Euro 2008 qualifier on Wednesday.

Podolski's first goal after 13 minutes in the game set the tone for the Germans, who attacked at will throughout the match on their way to making it three wins out of three in the campaign.

Michael Ballack and Bastien Schweinsteiger added two more before halftime in a game that was never in doubt.

Stanislav Varga spoiled goalkeeper Jens Lehman's shutout with a header in the 58th minute before Podolski scored his second of the evening when Miroslav Klose slotted the ball across the penalty area to his unmarked team mate after the duo sprung the offside trap.

The game was marred briefly by a skirmish in the crowd when several German fans battled Slovak police, who used truncheons.

Before the match, about 180 German hooligans registered by German police were stopped at border crossings as they tried to travel to the match. Last year German fans rioted with Slovak police after match between the two teams in Bratislava.

((Reporting by Alan Crosby; Editing by Mitch Phillips. prague.newsroom@reuters.com; Reuters Messaging: alan.crosby.reuters.com@reuters.net; +420 224 190 477))

Keywords: SPORT SOCCER EURO SLOVAKIA