Don't Call It A Comeback...

Pascal Lauener/Reuters

It may better be classified as a resurrection.  From a hapless first half effort to a relatively fluid showing in the second forty-five, Santos was able to inject life into the Galanolefki in the form of Dimitris Salpingidis, whose movement opened up the Polish defense and whose first touch lifted Greek hearts.  


It did not start out so rosy for the Santos and company.  The Biało-czerwoni had a tremendous home field advantage, which, ironically, came in the form of the Spanish referee.  Their movement in the midfield was unmatched by the Greeks, creating numerous opportunities for Jakub "Kuba" Blaszczykowski to disabuse Jose Cholebas on the wing.  In fact, it was Kuba's prime cross that set up a sweet header from the rumored Man United target, Robert Lewandowski, who made easy work of the lofted ball, while Kostas Chalkias was left to reconsider his ill-considered decision to take an impetuous, yet particularly ineffective, swipe at the ball.

Despite their first half struggles, there was an edge to the Greeks throughout, and, while some saw this as the tale of two halves, the turning point for me came with the inexplicable ejection of Sokratis Papasthatopoulos, leaving the Greeks, backs against the wall, with no choice but to fight.  The second-half introductions of Salpingidis and Kostas Fortounis and the gradual improvement of Ninis' service combined to provide the most convincing play of the period.  Now it was the Poles turn to look overwhlemed by the occasion, and none were more so than Wojciech Szczesny, whose clumsy foray into the box was rewarded with an early shower and a Greek penalty.  It was a sight unwelcome to Arsenal fans, if not unfamiliar *cough, Jens Lehmann, cough*, though Szczesny had the last laugh when Przemyslaw Tyton stopped Karagounis languid penalty try.  

In 2004, Greece beat the hosts 2-1 in their opener (and we all know how that ended), and that scoreline was entirely within their grasp this time around as well, if not for the less than lucky disallowed Salpingidis goal and the unfortunate Karagounis penalty.  Though, to be fair,  Tyton earned his keep with that stop - there are very few keepers who can acquit themselves so well off of the bench, even if the shot that hurtled toward him came with all the speed of a sloth on sleeping pills.  All in all, the result seemed fair to the neutral fan, though both sides may not help but feel a bit cheated by the final outcome. 


A few other thoughts on the opening game of the tourney:

• It is a custom to grow out one's facial hair in the playoffs or during a particularly bright period of play in American sports; Giorgios Samaras should shave his in hopes of reversing his current trend of form.  If, as I suspect, there is no improvement in his play, then at least the move will pay aesthetic dividends.  You may be over the hill and generally over rated for the entirety of your career, but you don't have to be ugly.

• This game demonstrated the difference between Sotiris Ninis and Kostas Fortounis: the former will be a fine supporting player, while the latter is the country's best chance of having a talent capable of producing class on a European stage.  

• If your record includes doling out 16 red cards in 19 La Liga games, your judgement as a referee should be automatically be brought into question.  If you then manage to give out two red cards in the first game of a European championship, you should not be a referee any more.  Period.