WARSAW, POLAND (AP) - Greece and Czech Republic play on Tuesday in Group A at the European Championship in Wroclaw.
Here is a running account of Tuesday’s action. All times are local to Poland.
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RESULT: GREECE 1 CZECH REPUBLIC 2
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1950: huge win for the Czech Republic. They had to take something from this game or they would be the first side to exit the tournament and they made an electric start, with two goals in the opening six minutes. Greece pulled one back through Fanis Gekas after an awful mistake from goalkeeper Petr Cech but the Greeks failed to push on from there and the Czech Republic take all three points. One sour note for the Czechs though, as captain Tomas Rosicky had to be replaced at half time as he has a foot injury. No word yet on how bad it is.
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1937: sdouglas80: National Stadium in Warsaw slowly filling up. Calm before the storm. Looking forward to seeing this Dzagoev character (via Twitter)
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1933: sdouglas80: Crossed the Vistula with the Russian march to National Stadium in Warsaw. Huge police presence, simmering tension (via Twitter)
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1927: Chants of ’Hellas (Greece)’ from the Greeks rain out around the stadium as they urge their side to push on and score. Fifteen minutes left for them to do so and Kostas Mitroglou comes on for Kostas Fortounis
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1916: And now Salpingidis is quick to follow Papadopoulos into the referee’s book for a rash tackle on David Limbersky. Kyriakos Papdopoulos is booked for Greece after a slide tackle on Milan Baros. The 20-year-old can have no complaints at all about that.
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1914: Greece have a goal and suddenly it is all to play for again, but it is a terrible mix up in the Czech Republic defense. A poor delivery from Samaras on the left is going straight into the hands of Petr Cech but as he comes to claim it he bumps into Tomas Sivok and knocks the ball right into the path of Fanis Gekas, who passes into an empty net. The Greeks are back in this. Can Gekas steal the role of super-sub from Salpingids and bring his side level?
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GOAL! GREECE 1 CZECH REPUBLIC 2
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1904: The Greeks have looked to deliver the ball into the Czech Republic penalty area since the beginning the second half but have done nothing to test goalkeeper Petr Cech, who has assumed the captain’s armband since Rosicky was substituted.
___ The teams are back out on the pitch, the Czech Republic in all red and Greece in white. Both sides making a change, Daniel Kolar on for Czech Republic captain Tomas Rosicky and Fanis Gekas replaces Giorgos Fotakis for Greece.
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The Czech Republic eased up after scoring twice in the opening six minutes against Greece at the Municipal Stadium. Petr Jiracek scored in the third minute before Vaclav Pilar doubled the lead moments after. Greece had a Giorgos Fotakis header ruled out for offside moments before half time but before then, offered little going forward. They will need to see more from the likes of Giorgios Samaras and Dimitris Salpingidis if they are to get back into this.
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HALF-TIME: GREECE 0 CZECH REPUBLIC 2
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1835: Greece has the ball in the back of the net, but it is ruled out for offside. The ball is delivered into the center from Torosidis on the right and Giorgos Fotakis rises highest and heads the ball past Petr Cech, but the linesman’s flag is up. will that give Greece some hope to steal a goal in the dying minutes of the first half?
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1834: Vassilis Torosidis is now shown yellow from referee Lannoy after challenging Vaclav Pilar from behind.
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1838: In Warsaw, hooligans have clashed during a march by Russia fans on the way to the National Stadium before the match against Poland. An Associated Press journalist witnessed Polish hooligans attacking Russians, who responded violently. The two sides, made up of dozens, kicked and beat each other in the faces.
Several people were seen lying injured and bleeding on the ground, with one of them appearing to be seriously hurt.
Most of the Russians marching appeared unaware of the trouble. About 5,000 Russian fans marched to the National Stadium to show their support for their national team before it confronts Poland.
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1827: Czech Republic captain Tomas Rosicky is booked for a high foot. He caught Karagounis on the head with his boot but it was accidental.
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1824: Kostas Chalkias is having to be replaced here for Greece, as things get even worse for them. The 38-year-old goalkeeper walks off the pitch shaking his head and is replaced by Michalis Sifakis. Chalkias receives treatment on his right thigh as he takes a seat on the bench.
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1821: Vaclav Pilar looks to make it three for the Czechs and grab his second of the game, but just misses. He weaves inside from the left and drives a low shot towards goal but it was the wrong side of the post. Greece are trying to find their way back into the game here but are naturally quite stunned after falling two goals behind so suddenly. They won a couple of free kicks in promising areas but failed to make something of it.
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1809: Michal Bilek, the Czech Republic coach, had his name roundly booed by the many Czech fans in the stadium when the line up was announced before kick off, says AP’s Derek Gatopoulos. He’s surely a bit more popular with them now, after this electric start from his side. Sensational start by the Czechs here and they double their lead after six minutes. Theodor Gebre Selassie breaks down the right and hits the byline before sending the ball into the six yard area. Chalkias gets a weak hand to the ball and it continues on its path into the centre, where Vaclav Pilar gets inbetween the two centre backs and knocks the ball with his thigh into the back of the net as he falls to the ground. He showed far more determination to get the ball there than the Greek defenders and he gets his goal.
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1806: Petr Jiracek gives the Czech Republic a dream start with a clinical finish in the third minute. He darts inside the defender and runs onto a sublime through ball from Tomas Hubschman who sends a left footed effort past Kostas Chalkias.
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GOAL! GREECE 0 CZECH REPUBLIC 2
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GOAL! GREECE 0 CZECH REPUBLIC 1
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1800: Greece get the game underway.
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1759: The anthems are over and players are shaking hands. Kick off is moments away. If Greek captain Giorgios Karagounis or defender Jose Holebas are booked today, they will miss the final group match against Russia for picking up two bookings. Nobody for the Czech Republic is a yellow card away from a suspension.
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1743: With thousands of Rssuians in Warsaw, we will keep you updated with our very own Graham Dunbar’s journey to the National Stadium in Warsaw, along with AP colleague Steve Douglas, for today’s late match between Poland and Russia. There are reports of some scuffled between Polish riot police and Russian fans.
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1743: gdunbarap: Too late to get tram to stadium, now following the Russian fans marching across the bridge over Vistula river, with riot police escort (via Twitter)
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1739: Gatopoulos adds that the Czech fans are out in force for this one: “The Czechs, 100 kilometers from the border, are heavily outnumbering the Greeks on a sunny day in Wroclaw.” Derek Gatopoulos, AP’s man in Greece, reports that there is a surprising number of Scottish people in Wroclaw. “Curiously a lot of Scots are in the city in football shirts and kilts, even though they are not in the competition. So Tartan Army meets the Spartan Army,” he says.
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1733: After their 4-1 defeat to Russia, the Czech Republic knows that if they lose today to 2004 winner Greece, they will be the first side out of the tournament. Milan Baros, who was joint top scorer in 2004, leads the attack for the Czech’s with support from the likes of captain Tomas Rosicky and widemen Vaclav Pilar and Petr Jiracek.
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1723: Stephane Lannoy from France is the referee. If Greece win, the Czech Republic will be out of Euro 2012 after two defeats. Greece will have to start with two different center backs after injury to Avraam Papadopoulos and the suspension of Sokratis Papastathopoulos.
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1723: Costas Katsouranis drops into defense and partners 20-year-old Kyriakos Papadopoulos in the center for Greece. Avraam Papadopoulos, who started there against Poland, is out of the tournament with a knee ligament injury. His partner at the back for that game, Sokratis Papastathopoulos, misses today’s match through suspension after being sent off for two bookable offenses. Dimitris Salpingidis starts after his impact coming off the bench against Poland in the opening game of Euro 2012. He scored the equalizer, won a penalty and inspired Greece to an energetic second half performance. Coach Fernando Santos could not leave him out today after that.
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1710: Czech Republic: Cech, Gebre Selassie, Sivok, Kadlec, Limbersky, Hubschman, Plasil, Jiracek, Rosicky, Pilar, Baros. Substitutes: Lastuvka, Suchy, Hubnik, Necid, Rezek, Petrzela, Rajtoral, Kolar, Pekhart, Lafata, Darida, Drobny. Greece: Chalkias, Maniatis, Papadopoulos, Torosidis, Holebas, Karagounis, Fotakis, Katsouranis, Fortounis, Samaras, Salpingidis. Greece substitutes: Tzorvas, Tzavelas, Malezas, Makos, Liberopoulos, Mitroglou, Gekas, Ninis, Fetfatzidis, Sifakis.
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