GROUP A - Czech Rep/Greece/Poland/Russia

In a prior article I remarked about how uninspired I was by the prospect of ‘meteoric clashes’ between the likes of Poland and Greece. Well, Group A’s 1^st fixture, and the tournament curtain raiser, was that such tie. Played out in front of a hysterical crowd in the National Stadium, Warsaw, the game transpired to be very watchable indeed... The Greeks, much like their economy as a whole, organised, and full of endeavour; whilst their opponents, buoyed by home support, were lively, and splattered with genuine, albeit unpronounceable, talent.

The real spine tingling moment of the game was produced by one such Pole Star, Robert Lewandowski stooping from the kind of heights that receive audible BBC Radio 5 Live signal, to plant his head on a cross that Greek goalkeeper, Chalkias, very characteristically, flapped at.

This goal unfortunately served to return Poland to their shell; and with the first half petering out, the host nation were provided a much needed, and presumably obligatory, ‘foot-up’ by the Spanish referee; who seemingly felt Papastathopoulos’ aftershave was deserving of a 2^nd bookable offence (he must have been wearing the pungent, ‘Sex Panther’ - “60% of the time, it works every time”) – I can’t think of a more plausible explanation!

10 man Greece fought back admirably after the break though, and levelled in the 51st minute through substitute Salpigidis. The Mediterranean’s could, and probably should, have gone on to take the 3 points, following the dismissal of Polish keeper Szczesny, and the subsequent penalty award; however Greek captain Karagounis saw his spot kick saved, and the 2004 winners were unable to turn their momentum into victory.

A point a piece, in a game that had a bit of everything; but ultimately that would have left the Greek manager the more subdued - the value of his savings having dwindled significantly in the last 90 minutes.

Elsewhere on opening night, two established provincial sides from Czechoslovakia and USSR, went head to head in a game that produced a total of 5 goals; 4 for Russia, and a solitary marker for the Czech Republic.

(Dzagoev: A soon-to-be familiar face)

Much hyped in his homeland, the evening saw Alan Dzagoev introduce himself to Western Europe with a superb brace. Dzagoev’s first, the game’s opener, a drilled effort from the edge of the box, following rugby star, Petr Cech’s, initial parry.
This goal set the platform for a fine Russian display. Architected by the aforementioned Dzagoev, and former/current Arsenal man, Andrey Arshavin (I’m assured it’s a player, not a pre-match streamlining exercise in the mode of an Olympic swimmer), the Russians broke through the Czech defence on countless occasions. Unfortunately, almost all the chances fell to centre forward Kerzhakov, who so far this tournament, couldn’t hit the ground if he threw a stone at it. Kerzhakov’s best moment, for me, coming after he ghosted onto a through-ball... calmly dropped a shoulder... performed an immaculate ‘Cruyff turn’ in the box, that sent not only the defender skidding to the turf, but most of the stadium... paused... looked up... showed great composure to pick his spot... before slicing the ball wildly into the middle of next week.

Kerzhakov’s replacement, Roman Pavlyuchenko, was somewhat less wasteful however, thumping the final cherry on the iron cake, past a helpless Petr Cech; having first weaved the Czech defence into a nice farewell cardigan for Harry Redknapp.

The 2^nd round of games in Group A, saw the Czech Republic recover from their opening day capitulation to beat an unfortunate Greece by 2 goals to 1. Both Czech goals were scored in the opening 10 minutes; and Greece, despite have chances, were unable to overhaul the deficit.

This result meant victory for Russia over historic rivals Poland would ensure their progress to the knock-out stages. The match was played to a backdrop of tension and hostility; fuelled further by the Russians UEFA charge, and their march through Warsaw - this time to commemorate their national day.

Russia’s Kerzahkov again staked his claim as the modern day Noah Hickey (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQbBTPcIDbs), time after time making intelligent runs, before coolly blazing the ball high and/or wide. But it was the headline grabber from match one, Dzagoev, who broke the deadlock; glancing the ball past Szczesny’s replacement, Tyton; following an expertly delivered free-kick.

The Russian’s looked flatter than a cat walk model post half time, and the Poles capitalised through a fabulous 20 yard strike from captain,Baszacowski Blaszczykovski Blaszszszszaa ‘Kuba’. The quality of the finish, the eruption of the home crowd, and the importance of the goal to the nation, arguably making this the moment of the tournament so far.

One each at the final whistle; both sides with a good chance of progression to the latter stages: -

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Russia	2	1	1	0	5	2	+3	4
Czech Republic	2	1	0	1	3	5	−2	3
Poland	2	0	2	0	2	2	0	2
Greece	2	0	1	1	2	3	−1	1

All the participants have a mathematical chance of qualification (assuming Russian misdemeanors aren't punished with a 6 point deduction); but Russia's quality, and Poland's heart, dictates they are likely to progress. As a by-product, the aforementioned would lead to Greece's Euro exit... does that sound right to you Frau Merkel?

(Angela Merkel's response)

BC
@BobbyCowsill
facebook group:- 'if that had gone in, it would have been a goal'