Georgios Samaras had a goal and an assist as Greece defeated Austria 2-1 in Vienna on Wednesday evening in an absorbing international friendly.
Both teams combined to produce a decent match that featured plenty of chances especially in a wide-open second half. Austria were the better side for most of the game putting the Greek backline under some good pressure throughout. Greece meanwhile did better finishing off the few chances they had and the victory keeps Fernando Santos undefeated in his tenure as Greek boss.
The hosts got off to a flying start putting the Greeks on the back foot immediately. They had a golden opportunity as early as the 4th minute when Stefan Maierhofer won a penalty after contact in the area with Milan’ Sokratis Papastathopoulos. Florian Klein stepped up to the spot; however his tame shot was saved by Alexandros Tzorvas and quickly cleared away by the Greek backline.
After a quarter of an hour the visitors began to settle into what was evolving into an attractive back and forth affair. In the 16th minute Werder Bremen’s Marko Arnautovic worked his way to the top of the box and blasted just wide with a good effort.
The Austrians thought they had scored the opener in the 36th minute however Maierhofer was adjudged to have fouled Tzorvas when he beat the Greek goalkeeper to a high ball and headed the ball into the net. The referee felt that Maierhofer had impeded the Panathinaikos player however television replays suggest the goal should have stood.
Greece rarely threatened in the first 45 minutes with Dimitris Salpingidis’ charging run into the box on 23 minutes the one real threat the Austrian defenders had to deal with.
Though Austria controlled first-half proceedings, it was Greece who opened the lead just minutes into the second half. Substitute Giorgos Fotakis picked out Georgios Samaras in the box and the Celtic forward headed home to give Santos’ team a 1-0 lead.
Dietmar Constantini’s side nearly had an instant response, but Zlatko Junuzovic contrived to miss from only 6 yards out. Austria kept trying to find a breakthrough and they were rewarded with a fantastic equalizer on 66 minutes. The scorer was captain Christian Fuchs as the on-loan Mainz player produced a wonderful left-footed long-range shot that flew past Tzorvas to make it 1-1.
Against the run of play, the Greeks produced what turned out to be the winner just 8 minutes from time. Samaras was at the center of it again as he drew four defenders to him as he dribbled into the box only to return the favor this time and dish off to Fotakis who scored his first ever goal in a Greek jersey with a composed finish.
Greece were finishing stronger by this point and came close to a third just a few minutes later when Giorgos Karagounis had his shot well saved and then Giorgos Tzavellas almost scored but he couldn’t find the target from close range after excellent work on the left wing by young substitute Ioannis Fetfatzidis.
The match continued at breakneck pace and soon after Austria nearly came back for the second time, but Paul Scharner’s deflected shot was tipped over by as Tzorvas produced a great instinct save.
And there was more drama late into injury time as Jacob Jantscher nearly pulled out a draw for Austria though he missed an opportunity with the last kick of the game. Greece held on to win for the first time ever in Austria, though the defeat won’t be looked at too harshly by Austrian supporters who must have been pleased by their side’s positive display.
The hosts got off to a flying start putting the Greeks on the back foot immediately. They had a golden opportunity as early as the 4th minute when Stefan Maierhofer won a penalty after contact in the area with Milan’ Sokratis Papastathopoulos. Florian Klein stepped up to the spot; however his tame shot was saved by Alexandros Tzorvas and quickly cleared away by the Greek backline.
After a quarter of an hour the visitors began to settle into what was evolving into an attractive back and forth affair. In the 16th minute Werder Bremen’s Marko Arnautovic worked his way to the top of the box and blasted just wide with a good effort.
The Austrians thought they had scored the opener in the 36th minute however Maierhofer was adjudged to have fouled Tzorvas when he beat the Greek goalkeeper to a high ball and headed the ball into the net. The referee felt that Maierhofer had impeded the Panathinaikos player however television replays suggest the goal should have stood.
Greece rarely threatened in the first 45 minutes with Dimitris Salpingidis’ charging run into the box on 23 minutes the one real threat the Austrian defenders had to deal with.
Though Austria controlled first-half proceedings, it was Greece who opened the lead just minutes into the second half. Substitute Giorgos Fotakis picked out Georgios Samaras in the box and the Celtic forward headed home to give Santos’ team a 1-0 lead.
Dietmar Constantini’s side nearly had an instant response, but Zlatko Junuzovic contrived to miss from only 6 yards out. Austria kept trying to find a breakthrough and they were rewarded with a fantastic equalizer on 66 minutes. The scorer was captain Christian Fuchs as the on-loan Mainz player produced a wonderful left-footed long-range shot that flew past Tzorvas to make it 1-1.
Against the run of play, the Greeks produced what turned out to be the winner just 8 minutes from time. Samaras was at the center of it again as he drew four defenders to him as he dribbled into the box only to return the favor this time and dish off to Fotakis who scored his first ever goal in a Greek jersey with a composed finish.
Greece were finishing stronger by this point and came close to a third just a few minutes later when Giorgos Karagounis had his shot well saved and then Giorgos Tzavellas almost scored but he couldn’t find the target from close range after excellent work on the left wing by young substitute Ioannis Fetfatzidis.
The match continued at breakneck pace and soon after Austria nearly came back for the second time, but Paul Scharner’s deflected shot was tipped over by as Tzorvas produced a great instinct save.
And there was more drama late into injury time as Jacob Jantscher nearly pulled out a draw for Austria though he missed an opportunity with the last kick of the game. Greece held on to win for the first time ever in Austria, though the defeat won’t be looked at too harshly by Austrian supporters who must have been pleased by their side’s positive display.
