UEFA Euro 2012 Group A (POL/GRE/RUS/CZE)

[Basti]

Only saw a few minutes of the 1st and at the start of the 2nd half but, wow, that ref was horrible. That 2nd yellow card on Sokratis was epically bad. Then again, the ref has quite the record. Every other game he throws someone off the field.

[5DOM]

Dzagoev strikes

[Boognish]

Goal Russia! This game has been exciting, very open

[Boognish]

Dzagoev shanked a great opportunity there. Should have made it two.

[Boognish]

This could get ugly, classy finish from Dzagoev

[5DOM]

It's like they are playing without a LB
2-0

[Mr Grant Hill]

Russia looks like a force to reckon with, good technique, precise counter-attacking, a lot of players from the same clubs. IIRC they were in the 2008 semis, right?

[5DOM]

Yeah, beat the Dutch in a fantastic game.

[magik9113]

Russia looks like a force to reckon with, good technique, precise counter-attacking, a lot of players from the same clubs. IIRC they were in the 2008 semis, right?

Their attack is extremely fluent and effective. Reminds me of Italy's in 2006 with the likes of Totti, Pirlo, Del Piero, etc...

[5DOM]

2-1

Much better game this game

[El Turco]

Czechs are making it bit easy but still Russia is looking great.

[theTROOF]

Well assuming Russia is #1 in the group, sucks we have to play them in Match #2.

Unless we beat them on Tuesday, Russia will rest their guys vs Greece......a huge advantage for them. While we will be playing a Czech team with nothing to lose.....a tough opponent to play

[Point forward]

Impressed by Russia, and also Greece was better than advertised. Russia's offensive machine was well oiled, they just surgically killed the Czechs. Poland will have a hard time, this draw was pretty disappointing.

Hero of the day: Alan Dsagoyev (RUS)
HM of the day: Prem Tyton (POL)

[theTROOF]

Yes Poland outplayed the Greeks & thus a tie is disappointing BUT the goalie save is something to rally behind.

[AdamTheGreek]

Not a chance in hell that I'll nitpick. We went from dead in the water, to getting pissed off. Grabbing the tie and then shooting ourselves in the foot with our few chances at the victory. But that first half was absolutely brutal. I figured we were trying to keep it calm to quiet the crowd through the first 15 minutes. Our play didn't improve though and we at that goal in the 17th. It didn't get better until Sokratis got thrown out. For much of the match (even the final 30 minutes) there just wasn't anything filling open passing lanes or cutting into the box. We really should've been down 2-0 at halftime, although we were robbed of that handball penalty. The ref was completely **** in the head. Everyone seem to agree with that notion thankfully. The Fortounis offside was unfortunate, great setup. Santos made some solid substitutions. Also, his reactions on the bench were hilarious. I'm more than fine with the tie because I figured the one match we had the best chance at winning will be against the Czechs on Tuesday who will be desperate and demoralized if we somehow snag that first goal.


Chalkias: I was really disappointed to see him start, but he actually didn't do too bad. Still can't seem to handle corners well at all, and he has a knack for taking atrocious angles to a ball. But he made the stops that were in his vicinity and that's all you can really ask from the old man. No point bitching about him anymore because we know Santos will start him next match. Support the man and hope our back 4 does better (Not that they were bad today).

Torosidis: You could tell he wanted to move up a lot more than he was able to today. Decent overall passing and made some good runs. Beauty of a running cross on our goal. He'll play better as we continue.

Avraam Papadopoulos: I'd say just a tad bit above mediocre up to his injury. He had some clearing issues. Avraam wasn't close to the rock he was for Olympiakos this year today. It looks like he's done for the tournament. Great for K. Paps, but bad for our CB depth.

Papastathopoulos: Got absolutely screwed today. Neither yellow was even close to a yellow. I'm praying UEFA will lift his match ban against the Czechs because what happened to Sokrati was an absolute injustice.

Holebas: By far our worst. He better be injured because I swear no one blew past him at Olympiakos this season. Couldn't do anything right. Main culprit for the Lewandowski goal. Jose whiffed on that run down the right, didn't get back up in time, which forced Papastathopoulos to pick up his man in the box. The problem was no one from the midfield picked up Lewandowski who sprinted out of nowhere like a mad man to the spot. Nothing Chalkias could do, even if he took a rough angle. World class header finish. The one thing Holebas did do right though was give that ref hell for having his head shoved far up his own ass. That was well worth the yellow considering the circumstances.

Maniatis: The reason he played so far in front of Katsouranis and Karagounis was because Maniatis recognized that both (mostly Katsouranis) were very hesitant to push the ball forward. Maniatis played a little above his capabilities and made some careless/risky errors. But he was still one of our best for sure. Guy has a motor that won't stop. Didn't really have any issues defending back. He'll probably continue to improve as our Euro 2012 time continues. Loved how he snuck in an elbow to Polish players' backs every time there was a header challenge. He won't be pushed around.

Katsouranis: Despite not providing much offensive help as he was designated to, Katsouranis actually ran the most/fastest I've seen from him in 6 years. He played spectacular defense at times. Needs to work on passing and connecting the midfield with the forwards. But he's not completely hopeless as I thought he'd be.

Karagounis: Played like a true captain. Did his usual dive and scream game, but it was needed at our most vulnerable times. Our goal basically came off of one of his vintage fouls. It's a shame he missed that penalty. Sucks that Gekas had just come out because Fani easily would've taken it. Since we don't have a go-to PK taker, I was hoping we would let Salpiggids (or even Fortounis) take it since I like giving the kick to the guys who actually earned it. I knew before if even stepped up that he was going right. So did Tyton. Still a phenomenal stop and perfect timing from a cold keeper. Karagounis placed it well, but he didn't give himself enough speed or angle to really fool the keeper. Karagounis' crosses were atrocious though for the most part. Too short and no arc. Still, Kara played a full 90 minutes and didn't look dead at any point. Great sign moving forward.

Ninis: His play would've been perfect for a Holland or Germany, but he needed to know better than to throw all those backheels around the pitch. Ninis just can't beat a defender one-on-one. He needs the support and for the most part we didn't give it to him. Ninis did make some good runs though. Much better at free kicks and taking corners than Karagounis today (which isn't saying much).

Gekas: A ghost. Charisteas or Lymberopoulos would've been more useful to our cause. You may as well start Samaras at striker next match. Fani is worthless without service. Unfortunately, we never give it to him on the big stage. He honestly may have had 3 touches his entire time on the pitch. He can't find the spark/energy to snag that ball and create his own chances.

Samaras: Had some good ball control moments, but never could connect with Holebas or Karagounis. He pissed away a few superb goal scoring chances. Mr. Inconsistent just couldn't put two good possessions together. However, he still should be allowed to start next match to redeem himself.

Kyriakos Papadopoulos: He's starting the rest of our tournament (barring cards or an injury) one way or another with Avraam done for the campaign and Papastathopoulos most likely not having his 1-match ban rescinded. Aside from the very first seconds on where he had that bad clear that should've been 2-0, the kid showed why he's special. He was eating Polish players for dinner and spitting out their bones. K. Paps is a freight train. I won't be surprised at all to see him head in a goal in these next two matches. He's all over the pitch and a great stabilizing force for when our opponents counter.

Salpiggidis: The man is a **** warrior. Any doubts that people had as to why he was getting meaningful NT minutes should end. The man's heart is worth 5 offsides a match. Now whether he should start in place of Ninis next match is up in the air. Salpiggidis' energy off the bench wouldn't be the same in a 90-minute match. Santos has a lot of thinking to do.

Fortounis: What a baller. This guy I would definitely start on the left with Samaras in Gekas' place up top. 19-year-old stud comes in to a pressure packed 1-1 game. His first touch was indeed that phenomenally beauty of a feed to Salpi in the box. Kid looks so composed and relaxed. Moves with easy fluidity. Actually connects well with the rest of his teammates on the pitch. He's basically what we hoped Samaras would be.

[theTROOF]

Adam, indeed what a roller coaster ride. We were badly out coached in the 2nd Half

I feel Poland could have won 3-1 & yet lost 1-2. I guess that's the glory of these tournaments. The 1-1 feels disappointing for Poland only because of the home field advantage but overall we both live to fight another day (sorry Czechs)

[AdamTheGreek]

How did that Spaniard ref get picked for Euro matches again? Jesus. Look at just the yellows.

[Boognish]

whoa, that ref is trigger happy

[Basti]

Seriously, guys with loose fingers such as him shouldn't be reffing in important games or tournaments. As I said, I didn't watch much of the 2nd half but the 1st half was horrible in terms of reffing.

Great game by Russia, too. It was fun to watch them (counter) attack. Not sure how far they'll go, particularly against teams with better defenses but still.

[theTROOF]

Seriously, guys with loose fingers such as him shouldn't be reffing in important games or tournaments. As I said, I didn't watch much of the 2nd half but the 1st half was horrible in terms of reffing.

Great game by Russia, too. It was fun to watch them (counter) attack. Not sure how far they'll go, particularly against teams with better defenses but still.

I think the ref rode momentum & too often gave makeup calls

The English ref in comparison for the 2nd game was fair no matter what. Then again 4-1 match vs this Poland/Greece match was easier to ref