 |
| Opening Ceremony Before Game |
 |
| Lewandoski heading the ball to give Poland a 1- nil lead |
Poland and Greece were set up to begin Euro 2012 in front of
a predominately Polish crowd which forced Greece to play in a very tough environment.
This game was crucial in deciding who would advance from the group considering Russia
and Czech Republic are the other members of the group and there is no clear
favorite. The tone for the game was set when the Spanish referee Carlos Carballo
called a foul for simple hand play on a long pass by Poland. This one call
showed the difference in styles of football from country to country. Spain
prefers a more strategic game with passing compared to countries that actually
have testicles such as Germany and England where they are allowed to touch each
other. Poland was able to control possession early and had very series of
chances that ended with Maciej Rybus missing a shot and giving Greece a goal
kick. 10 minutes later Poland missed another fantastic opportunity on a cross
by Lukasz Piszczek skimmed by Robert Lewandowski’s head. Poland’s strategy of
crossing finally paid off at the end of the 17th minute when a goal
by Lewandoski off of a fantastic cross by Eugen Polaski.
Greece
finally got their frist decent chance in the 26th minute on a long
shot by Katsouranis but he missed high and wide. After a brief attack by Poland,
Greece was able to have its first sustained attack of the game which cultivated
with them having a free kick. After Ninis attempted the free kick too soon they
gave their plan a way(which may have worked) and were unable to capitalize on
the second attempt. The missed free kick resulted in a brief Polish counter
attack. In the 35th minute Papastathopoulos was given a bull shit
yellow card for winning a header, a second example of how Spanish refs should
stay in the domestic league where they play touch soccer instead of a game that
takes physical ability. After the card, Poland had another great opportunity when
the free kick was redirected right to the feet of Damien Perquis inside the 18
but was unable to put the ball into the net.
Polish
captain Jakub Blaszczykowski outhustled the entire Greece defense to give Poland
another attack on net. This may be the story of the first half in which Poland
dominated the game through energy, even though possession was almost even
Poland was able to get more attempts thorough hustle and focus. Greece did just
not seem to be all there in the first half. They made many inaccurate passes
and often just didn’t get all of the ball. The officiating in the first half was
atrocious as Papastathopoulos was sent off with his second yellow for just
being there while a Polish player fell down. In the 47th minute
Carballo gave yellow cards to Greek players for arguing a close calls, he is
simply out of his league. He was even awful in domestic play as he administered
16 red cards in 19 la Liga matches in Spain this past year.
 |
| "Salpy" provided much energy off the bench giving Greece a goal and drawing a penalty |
The second
half started the same way as the first with Poland able to get out on a quick
attack. Greece was able to score in the 51st minute when Marcin Wasilewski of Poland cut off his goalie Szczesny from a cross on the right
side which redirected to the substitute Dimitris Salpingidis who put the ball
into the net. In the 60th minute Carballo made a questionable decision
to not card Salpingidis when he performed a late tackle. Carballo has been
booking people for not reason but when something seems worthy of a card he
keeps it in his pocket. Greece’s second half was much more impressive as they
had much more energy racing to loose balls that Poland would have easily had in
the first half. Greece did start to dive around the 60th minute
which slowed down the game possibly hinting at them being tired.
 |
| Tyton stops the penalty to preserve the draw |
Carballo
made his first good call of the night as he dismissed Szczesny from the game
for his tackle of Salpingidis inside the 6 after Salpy missed the ball. That
dismissal put substitute goalkeeper Tyton in a tough position but he comes up
huge by saving Karagounis’ penalty and in the process saving his starter.
Greece had another huge opportunity as Salpy put the ball in the net but it was
taken back as one of his teammates was called for offsides. Poland had a great chance
in the 80th minute when they had the ball in the box but Ludovic
Obraniak waited too long to do anything and dribbled right out of bounds.
Greece responded with a great chance of their own but the long haired Samaras
kicked the ball about 50 meters in the air. Poland had many attempts in the
last 15 minutes but they have been sloppy, either getting no pace on the ball
or crossing the ball to where no one is. With 10 on 10 soccer one would expect
the game to open up but neither side was able to put the ball in the net during
extra time. In extra time, Poland mustered one corner kick but both sided
played much uninspired soccer which resulted in a 1-1 draw.
 |
| Idiot and Star of the game: Carlos Carballo |
In the
end, both teams were most likely happy to come away with a draw as they both
didn’t play very well. Poland had many chances on net but failed to capitalize
on them other than one header in the first half. Greece played an awful in the
first half with porous defense that allowed Poland constant strikes on net. The
right side of the field was wide open for Poland in the first but when it came
to the second, they either stopped trying to go to it or Greece was able to
force Poland to the middle. Greece’s offense came out in the second half when
they were able to get to the net through crosses and they were finally able to
put one into the back of the net. This result put neither team in a good
position to advance but doesn’t hurt. My favorites in this group are Russia and
the Czech Republic with the winner of
their matchup being the winner.
No comments:
Post a Comment