A Dramatic Euro 2012 Opener Between Poland and Greece

What an opener!  Penalties.  Bad calls.  Red cards.  What more could spectators ask for from an opener?  Poland and Greece played an exhilarating match at the National Stadium in Warsaw, which ended in a 1-1 draw, two red cards, and a penalty kick for Greece.

Poland's Robert Lewandowski came right out the gate ready to give spectators what they came for – a stellar game.  The striker helped Poland get off to a positive start, with a header at the 17' minute mark.

Match referee, Carlos Velasco, made headlines and received a lot flack for his officiating or lack thereof.  The first incident occurred when Greece's Sokratis Papastathopoulos was accused of elbowing Lewandowski at the 60' minute mark.  Sokratis was booked, but the challenge looked 50/50.  Sokratis received his second booking of the evening, resulting in a forced red, at the 44' mark.  Poland's Rafal Murawski lost his balance when trying to get past Sokratis, and the Spanish ref deemed that the Greek player was to blame – a very controversial call.

 

Poland was lucky when Velasco denied what should have been a penalty.  Damien Perquis executed a sliding tackle within his own box and the ball clearly touched his arm in the process – handball.  The Greeks and their supporters were all in uproar when no call was given.  With a man down and a denied penalty appeal, Greece left 1-0 down at the break.

But not to worry.  Greece reminded the home team exactly why they're in the competition, showing a bit more composure after the rest.  It was Poland's turn for a bit of bad luck.  The second period suddenly looked like a new game, forcing Poland to multiply their efforts as belief mounted within the Greek team.

Another red card was flashed. This time, it went to Poland’s GK, Szczesny.  The goalkeep made the terrible decision of kicking Salpingidis in a one-on-one situation.  The Arsenal man was immediately expulsed from the pitch.  At that moment, numbers were equal: 10-to-10 and 1-1.

The pressure was on Szczesny's substitute, Tyton, to pull a splendid save and keep Poland in the running.  The electric atmosphere by the fans at the National Stadium in Warsaw certainly played a part in the outcome of that moment as Tyton produced a vital punch at the disgust of the Greeks.

written by Gail Hidalgo