Greece vs. Cyprus (Fulltime Report)

The final whistle has blown, and Greece has come out 2-0 winners over Cyprus. It’s the Greeks 7th consecutive victory in all competitions, while their unbeaten run stretches to 8 — undefeated since August of 2007. It was the Greeks last home game before their EURO 2008 campaign, and the first of a set of three friendlies before their June 11th kickoff against Sweden in Salzburg.

The game got off to a quick pace, with the Greeks taking the early initiative. Debutant, Sotiris Ninis, ran to a slick pass from Dimitris Salpigindis, and slotted the ball past a helpless Georgalidis. Greece continued to press and had plenty of other chances through Kostas Katsouranis who’s header hit the crossbar; Salpigindis himself hit the side netting; a pair of carobatic displays from Theofanis Gekas and Stelios Giannakopoulos — captain for tonight – sailed over the bar.

Cyprus had few chances in the first half, as the defensive pressure limited the like of Michalis Konstantinou and Yiasoumi from having their shot at goal. Their best chance came through a set piece, where a defensive header by Karagounis almost caught Kostas Chalkias off guard. Luckily, the Greek keeper was able to leap and push the ball over the bar.

The second half with Greece sporting many changes all over the pitch. Ninis was subbed off, along with the likes of Salpigindis. Cyprus made two changes as well; Augoustos replaced Georgalidis in goal, and Pavlou was subbed in for Charalambidis. Greece began with a few strides toward goal but their bad luck continued to deprive them of a second goal. A prime example came through two glorious chances for Gekas. First he stole the ball from the Cyprus defense, but couldn’t beat the keeper. Shortly after, Katsouranis’ long range cross found Gekas wide open, but the Leverkusen striker put his thunderous header over the bar. When Gekas scored a few moments later, the Scottish linesmen marked him as rightfully offside.

Finally, the breakthrough came on 53 minutes. Although it was questionable, the referee awarded Georgios Karagounis a penalty. Kostas Katsouranis stepped up and converted the penalty past a mistaken Augoustos.

With the score now 2-0, Greece coach Otto Rehagel began to experiment with new combinations of players. Ioannis Goumas replaced Traianos Dellas in the back line, while Giannakopoulos made way for youngster Lazaros Christodoulopoulos.

The changes led to the game to open up a bit more for the visiting Cypriots, who forced the best out of keeper Chalkias when Konstantinou broke free of the defense and had a long range shot on goal. Moments later Michail broke free of some tight marking, but his effort went wide of the post.

Greece looked to make it 3-0 on the night, but PAOK youngster Christodoulopoulos put his effort way over the bar. It was creative play starting from the wing and working its way to Gekas who cleverly set up the Greek prospect. It proved to be the last decent chance of the game, and the Greek fans at the Pampeloponnisiako Stadium in Patra went home happy.

Greece vs. Cyprus (All the Goals)

Stadium: Pampeloponnisiako Stadium, Patra, Greece

Referee: Douglas McDonald (Scotland)

Greece (Rehhagel): Chalkias, Dellas (Goumas 64′), Papastathopoulos, Spyropoulos, Vyntra (Melissis 71′), Ninis (Tziolis 46′), Karagounis (Makos 80′), Giannakopoulos (Christodoulopoulos 64′), Katsouranis, Salpingidis (Liberopoulos 46′), Gekas.

Cyprus (Anastasiadis): Georgalidis (Augoustos 46′), Okkaridis (Lamprou 63′), Christou, Elia, Nikolaou, Makridis (Christofi 72′), Michail, Charalampidis (Pavlou 46′), Garpozis, Konstantinou (Panagi 64′), Giasemi (Daskalakis 81′).

Yellow Cards: Okkaridis 25′ (Cyprus)

Red Cards: None

Greece’s next match comes this Saturday (May 24th) against Hungary in Budapest. It is expected that Greece will field a much stronger and more experienced contingent of players. There are only two matches for Greece ahead of their EURO 2008 opener vs. Sweden.