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The Euro 2012 opener between co-hosts Poland and Greece kicked off at 930 p.m. IST last night and ended in a 1-1 draw which saw both sides reduced to ten men. Robert Lewandowski opened the scoring after seventeen minutes, but Dimitrios Salpingidis levelled for Greece in the 51st minute.
The match saw both sides reduced to ten men. Sokratis Papastathopoulos received a second yellow card a minute before half-time while Wojciech Szczesny was given a straight red card for a foul on Salpingidis inside the box, with substitute keeper Przemyslaw Tyton saving the resultant penalty from Giorgios Karagounis.
Here are five things we can take away from this game.
1.) Greece could surprise many going into this tournament
Greece’s Portuguese coach Fernando Santos has named a squad with the right blend of youth and experience. Giorgios Karagounis, Kostas Katsouranis and Kostas Chalkias were all part of the victorious Greek squad of 2004, while Sotiris Ninis, Kostas Fortounis, Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Giannis Fetfazidis represent the next generation of Greek players.
Facing a hostile atmosphere in Warsaw where the Hellenes were booed every time they touched the ball, they created several chances, though none of them troubled Wojciech Szczesny. The Greeks showed plenty of resilience to draw level with the co-hosts despite being down to ten men.
It also didn’t help that Avraam Papadopoulos had hobbled of the pitch with an injury in the first half to be replaced by his namesake Kyriakos.
Only Przemyslaw Tyton’s save in the second half from Karagounis prevented them from securing a famous victory.
Greece surprised many when they won the Euros in 2004, and they do have the potential to cause an upset this time around as well.
2.) Wojciech Szczesny is a good keeper, but he is too rash
Szczesny is a product of the Arsenal Academy that is known for churning out good quality players. He has put in several good shifts for Arsenal last season, displacing fellow Gunner Lukasz Fabianski as Poland’s number one.
But as he has shown for Arsenal in the past – and as he did last night against Greece – he is a rash keeper. While his decision to rush out and collect the ball from Salpingidis was right, why did he have to go in feet first when he could have as easily snaffled the ball with his hands?
Should he improve on his judgement in crunch situations, he will surely become a world-class keeper. Such things will come with experience.
3.) Poland’s young side are capable of losing the plot too easily
Poland played like a side possessed in the first half. Jakub B?aszczykowski, Lukas Piszczek and Robert Lewandowski were the home side’s most threatening outlets, and troubled keeper Kostas Chalkias several times. Blaszczykowski’s cross for his Dortmund team-mate Lewandowski found him like a guided missile and his header with thumped home with aplomb.
Poland showed they were capable of varying their style of play. At times, the passed the ball with ease, dominating the Greeks, and switched to wing-play and crosses to keep the Greeks on their toes.
In the second-half, however, not only did the Greeks come out a rejuvenated side, but Poland seemed all at sea. It was as if the pressure told on the co-hosts.
“We were under great pressure, great stress, and I think it was a big burden for this very young team who have not played in a big tournament before, unlike the Greeks who’ve taken part in World Cups and European Championships,” said coach Franciszek Smuda. “At half-time, we said we wanted to keep going but we played too much sideways and backwards. The Greeks had nothing to lose. We could see some of the players were paralysed by the pressure.”
“The first half went the way we expected it to and the way we wanted it to go. We scored a goal, we were leading the game, and then they got a red card. Unfortunately, this probably sent us to sleep because in the second half the Greeks had too much space and they created some dangerous chances,” said Piszczek “After the penalty kick that was saved by our goalkeeper we definitely won a point, but there were some missed opportunities in the first half. Maybe if we had made it 2-0 there would be less stress, but that’s football.”
4.) Despite this set-back, the Poland team showed they have talent
It may sound a tad incredulous, but Poland have some world-class players. Robert Lewandowski, Lukas Piszczek and Jakub Blaszczykowski were all mainstays of Borussia Dortmund‘s league and cup double victory and Wojciech Szczesny has firmly established himself as Arsenal’s first-choice keeper.
Several other Poles also play for established clubs across the continent. Damien Perquis, Ludovic Obraniak and Dariusz Dudka all ply their trade in Ligue 1, Sebastian Boenisch, Adam Matuszczyk, Eugen Polanski amd Artur Sobiech – along with the above – play in Germany, and Przemyslaw Tyton is first-choice custodian for PSV Eindhoven.
“During the training camp in Austria, we had a lot of sessions where we took penalties. ?ukasz Fabia?ski, who’s injured, is great at stopping penalties but Przemys?aw Tyto? has made some spectacular penalty saves at club level too,” said Smuda.
They showcased plenty of their talent in the first half, and should they keep their wits about them, Poland could go far this tournament.
Smuda said, “It would have been much worse if we’d lost. A draw is not the end of it; this tournament is still open. We have two matches to go and should not dwell on this but just focus on the next one and winning it.”
5.) Greece’s long-ball game could cause problems
At half-time, Fernando Santos made an inspired substitution, taking off Sotiris Ninis for Dimitrios Salpingidis. Ninis had been on the periphery of the game, being kept quiet by the Polish fullbacks. The introduction of the P.A.O.K. man meant that Greece were playing with two strikers.
The diminutive Salpingidis and the 6’4″ Giorgios Samaras up front meant that Greece could now vary their style of play, and resorted to long balls to pick out the Celtic striker with the knowledge that his strike partner would be there to play off him.
It ultimately worked, as the Polish back line found itself under seige, resulting in Salpingidis scoring the equaliser.
As Piszczek puts it, “We dominated the Greek team in the first half and could have scored more goals. The second half was totally different. The Greeks were better despite having ten men. We didn’t know how to stop their long-ball tactics. This cost us; first we conceded a goal and then the penalty.”
Santos lavished praise on his team. “After the first 25 minutes we improved. The players started very well in the second half, [which was] completely different”, he said “They showed their character, they scored a goal, and we had another chance to score the second [with Giorgios Karagounis's penalty], which would have decided the match, I think. Unfortunately, we couldn’t score, but that’s part of football. In the end both teams were tired but both tried to win, both tried to create chances, and we had the best of the second half.”
