Published: Today at 18:52
ARSENAL keeper Wojciech Szczesny had a night to forget as Poland were held to a draw by 10-man Greece in the opening game of Euro 2012.
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The co-hosts took a 17th-minute lead after Greek stopper Konstantinos Chalkias misjudged a cross to allow Robert Lewandowski to head home.
Greece were dealt a further blow on the stroke of half-time when Socratis Papastathopoulos picked up his second dubious yellow card.
But Szczesny hit the self-destruct button and allowed substitute Dimitrios Salpingidis to equalise six minutes into the second half.
It went bad from bad to worse in the 69th minute for the Arsenal No1 when he brought down Salpingidis with an outstretched right boot after being caught in no man's land.
Szczesny was shown a straight red but Przemyslaw Tyton climbed off the bench to spare his team-mate's blushes by saving the resulting penalty spot-kick from Giorgios Karagounis.
And Tyton's save proved enough to earn the Poles a welcome point.
The Poles, who began the game with swaggering intent in front of their home fans, dominated the first half.
And it was no surprise when Lewandowski gave them the perfect start, although the goal had as much to do with the poor positioning of Chalkias as anything else.
Chalkias found himself flapping to leave the Borussia Dortmund striker, who scored a hat-trick in the German cup final last month, to head home a swinging cross from Jakub Blaszczykowski.
It was no more than Poland deserved.
They were hungrier, quicker to the ball and seemingly desperate to prove that while they are the lowest-ranked team in the tournament, they have a realistic chance of reaching the quarter-finals at least.
The Greeks looked a shadow of the organised side who had gained a reputation for being tough to beat, having lost just one of 21 games under manager Fernando Santos.
In fact, the Poles would have been kicking themselves that they were not further ahead at half-time after Rafal Murawski, Maciej Rybus and Lewandowski all missed clear-cut chances.
Damien Perquis should also have scored when the ball fell to him in the penalty area but the Polish defender, in unfamiliar territory, drilled his shot wide of the post.
It looked as if the Greeks’ fortune had deserted them completely, however, when Papastathopoulos saw red.
The defender had already become the first player to be booked in the tournament for what appeared a harmless challenge.
And his second yellow was equally as harsh when he was adjudged to have brought down Murawski.
Perhaps fired up by the injustice, the Greeks came out in the second half with more determination and it paid off, even in they did have Szczesny to thank for their equaliser.
He raced out of his goal attempting to collect Vassilis Torosidis’ right-wing cross but misjudged it totally, allowing substitute Salpigidis to score from close range.
The drama, however, was far from finished and the teams were down to 10 players each when Szczesny endured a moment of madness, sticking out a leg to trip Salpigidis in the penalty area.
The resulting penalty was delayed while PSV Eindhoven goalkeeper Tyton came off the bench and Maciej Rybus went off.
But Tyton’s first action was the most crucial of the match, saving the tame spot-kick of Karagounis.
A point was probably a fair result — but what a dramatic way for the tournament to begin.
Poland: Szczesny, Piszczek, Wasilewski, Perquis, Boenisch, Murawski, Polanski, Blaszczykowski, Obraniak, Rybus (Tyton 69), Lewandowski. Subs not used:Sandomierski, Wojtkowiak, Kaminski, Dudka, Matuszczyk, Wawrzyniak, Sobiech, Mierzejewski, Wolski, Grosicki, Brozek.
Sent off: Szczesny (69).
Goals: Lewandowski 17.
Greece: Chalkias, Torosidis, Papastathopoulos, Avraam Papadopoulos (Kyriakos Papadopoulos 36), Holebas, Maniatis, Katsouranis, Karagounis, Ninis (Salpingidis 46), Gekas (Fortounis 68), Samaras. Subs not used: Tzorvas, Tzavelas, Malezas, Makos, Liberopoulos, Mitroglou, Fotakis, Fetfatzidis, Sifakis.
Sent off: Papastathopoulos (45).
Booked: Papastathopoulos, Holebas, Karagounis.
Goals: Salpingidis 51.
Att: 56,826
Ref: Carlos Velasco Carballo (Spain).
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