This Week’s Euro 2012 Match Recaps pt.1
This last week has seen some great matches, undoubtedly enticing fans to congregate in local pubs, restaurants and street side viewing stations the world over.
This week saw many great matches, some upsets, some foreseen outcomes, but all were played with a great sense of pride in the spirit of the competition.
UKRAINE v. SWEDEN
Monday saw Ukraine face off against Sweden in a game which landed the co-hosts a well-deserved victory The first half was narrowly led by Ukraine and Sweden made a valiant attempt to hold the lead after a 52nd minute goal from close range. However, Ukraine ultimately pulled ahead late in the game thanks to Andriy Shevchenko’s powerful striking and secured the 2-1 victory.
GREECE v. CZECH REPUBLIC
Tuesday saw redemption for the Czech Republic after what was said to be their worst opening to a final tournament, ever. Their earlier loss of 4-1 versus Russia must have lit a fire under the Czech players, because they went on to score the fastest two-point lead in the Euro’s history against Greece, thanks to Petr Jirá?ek and Václav Pila? reaching the back of the net within six minutes. Greece attempted to answer back with their own goal, but it wasn’t enough and ultimately led to a 1-2 defeat against the Czech Republic.
RUSSIA v. POLAND
The second game of Tuesday with Poland and Russia facing off was an exciting one with an opening goal coming from Russian the first half. However, despite a series of super-fast exchanges the team failed to develop from there and was eventually met with a goal from Poland in the second half ending the match in a 1-1 draw. Unfortunately the exciting match was overshadowed by violent outbreaks between Russian, German, and Polish fans. Hooligans and bystanders alike were casualties of the violent clashes that preceded the heated match on Russia Day.
