MX23RW : Thursday, February 6 10:53:18| >> :600:6551497:6551497:

Fernando Santos hails Greek effort

Santos hails Greek effort
© PA Photos
Fernando Santos says that he is satisfied with his players' performance during their Euro 2012 opener with Poland.

Greece coach Fernando Santos has praised the efforts of his team after they battled back from a goal down to draw with Poland.

The 2004 champions found themselves behind at the half-time interval, having sat back and defended for most of the opening period.

They had also suffered a setback when defender Sokratis Papastathopoulos was harshly sent off for two bookable offences.

However, Dimitris Salpingidis's second-half strike was enough to ensure a share of the spoils in the Euro 2012 opening game.

Santos believes that Papastathopoulos's red card was a mistake but said that he never doubted his team could get themselves back in the game.

"After the first 20 minutes everyone did a great job," said the 57-year-old. "If we leave aside the first 20 I am really satisfied with all my players.

"When Sokratis was sent off, it wasn't justified but still we succeeded in keeping on the pressure. I totally accept the decision of the referee but it was a difficult situation for us.

"We were confident and thought we could get in the game again. In the end both teams were tired but tried to create chances and we had the best in the second half."

The Portuguese coach took control of Greece in 2010.

ID:30205: cacheID:30205:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:2427:
Written by
Michael Penkman
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Przemyslaw Tyto
Read Next:
Tyton: It was like a dream
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool23175156213556
2Arsenal24148249222750
3Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest24145540271347
4Chelsea24127547311643
5Manchester CityMan City24125748351341
6Newcastle UnitedNewcastle24125742291341
7Bournemouth24117641281340
8Aston Villa2410773437-337
9Fulham249963632436
10Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton2481063538-334
11Brentford2494114242031
12Crystal Palace247982830-230
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd2485112834-629
14Tottenham HotspurSpurs24831348371127
15West Ham UnitedWest Ham2476112946-1727
16Everton236892328-526
17Wolverhampton WanderersWolves2454153452-1819
18Leicester CityLeicester2445152553-2817
19Ipswich TownIpswich2437142249-2716
20Southampton2423191854-369


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!