Greece held by Slovenia in Euro warm-up
Reuters - Saturday 26 May 2012, 21:07
Greece entered the
final stretch of their Euro 2012 preparations with a low-key 1-1
draw against Slovenia in a friendly in Austria on Saturday.
Greece went ahead after eight minutes through Vasilis
Torosidis and were heading for victory until three minutes from
time, when Jasmin Kurtic equalised with a stunning free-kick.
Substitute Panagiotis Kone was dismissed for Greece in
injury time for violent conduct after lashing out at a Slovenian
defender.
Fernando Santos's side began the match brightly, taking the
lead after Kostas Katsouranis found Torosidis with a well-judged
long ball. The Olympiakos defender controlled and rifled a low
shot past Samir Handanovic.
Greece sat back and almost conceded four minutes before
half-time, when goalkeeper Costas Chalkias made a fine save from
Dare Vrsic.
Chances were at a premium in the second half, with Greece
restricted to a couple of long-range shots from captain Giorgos
Karagounis.
Slovenia were rewarded for their efforts when Kurtic buried
his powerful free-kick in the top corner of Chalkias's net.
Greece, who are preparing for Euro 2012 at a training camp
in Austria, play Armenia in their final warm-up match on May 31.
They face the co-hosts Poland in the opening game of the
European Championships on June 8.