Gekas brace gives Greece win in Riga

Greece continued its perfect start to their World Cup Qualifying campaign with a 2-0 win over group two rivals Latvia in Riga. The Greeks, who scored twice thanks to Theofanis Gekas, took pole position in the group after winning both of their opening fixtures.

Clearly victory was the main objective for Greece, but in a pregame interview, Greece coach Otto Rehhagel admitted that coming away with draw in Riga would also be a success. Despite their coach limiting the pressure on Greece, the away side surely fulfilled their fans’ expectations on this night.
Gekas initiated the celebrations in the first half, when he met a pinpoint cross from Giourkas Seitaridis to thrash the ball past Latvian goalkeeper Andris Vanins. Known for his offensive abilities, Seitaridis showed glimpses of his fin form that won praises at EURO 2004. The Atletico Madrid defender was calm in his approach to find a streaking Gekas, and his delivery was all class as the ball fell perfectly for Gekas’ right foot.

Greece didn’t sit back on their early advantage, and looked certain to double their lead soon after. Georgios Karagounis fooled nearly everybody with his curling corner, but a last minute block from Vanins kept the ball out. Latvian looked for offensive surges of their own, but strict defense by the Greeks kept the Kostas Chalkias’ goal pure.

Not to be out done, Greece attacked just ahead of the half-hour mark with a lethal header from the reputable head of Angelos Charisteas. It was from another set piece from Karagounis, this time a free-kick; but the pair who linked up for Greece’s only goal at EURO 2008, were denied on this occasion by an acrobatic Vanins.

Georgios Samaras nearly scored himself after perfect control saw the Celtic striker escape his man, but the finish wasn’t of the same quality as he slammed the ball just wide of the upright.
What seemed to be the inevitable finally happened shortly after the restart. Gekas scored his second of the game, and third of the qualifying campaign, to give Greece a doubled advantage. Vassilis Torosidis lobbed in a cross from the wing, and Gekas – who surged towards the far post – turned the ball in for Greece’s second.

The theme of misses continued in the second interval; a wasteful Greece failed to put the game beyond doubt on several occasions. Their misses seemed to rub off on the hosts, as Maris Verpakovskis scuffed his side’s best chance even though he was sent all alone against Chalkias.
Certainly the score line was not a proper indication of the control Greece had on the game. Squandered opportunities kept the Riga encounter close, but surely Greece had the chance to score several more.

Greece continued its ‘score but don’t concede’ methodology in Riga, as the Greeks finished their opening set of fixtures with maximum points and a nearly equal goal differential with five scored and none conceded.

The same cannot be said of Greece’s group 2 rivals. In other results, Switzerland suffered a shock defeat with the EURO 2008 hosts falling to lowly Luxembourg 3-1. Avoiding any jinxes, Israel edged out Moldova 2-1.

Greece sits in first place in group 2, with Israel trailing closely behind on four points. Matchday 2 losers, Latvia, sit firmly in third place; while to everyone’s surprise, Luxembourg finds themselves in fourth place with three points. Switzerland will be hoping to improve on their fifth place ranking, while Moldova will be anxious to escape the basement of the group 2 table.

The qualifiers will be left on pause until early October, but will continue with Greece returning home to host Moldova. As for the other fixtures, Luxembourg will hope to add another victory to their name with Israel making the trip north. Meanwhile, Switzerland will look to erase their weak start when they host Latvia.

Latvia 0-2 Greece
Gekas 17’, 50’

Yellow Cards:
Latvia – Klava 72’
Greece – none.

Latvia (Aleksandrs Starkovs): Vanins, Gorkss, Kacanovs, Klava, Astafjevs, Stepanovs, Laizans, Perepletkin (79’ Visnjakovs), Solonicins (65’ Rubins), Verpakovskis, Karlsons (60’ Grebis).

Greece (Otto Rehhagel): Chalkias, Seitaridis, Torosidis, Dellas, Kyrgiakos, Papadopoulos, Katsouranis, Karagounis (62’ Basinas), Charisteas, Gekas (77’ Salpingidis), Samaras (88’ Liberopoulos).