Greece back from the brink
Thursday, March 11, 2004
Article summary
Greece 2-1 Israel Greece revive hopes with second-half comeback.
Article body
Bernidakis error
The Greeks had lost their opening game against the Group 4 mini-tournament hosts Portugal on Monday, and when Nicolaos Bernidakis turned the ball into his own net seven minutes after the interval their hopes of reaching this summer's finals looked bleak.
Superb comeback
However Kyriakos Karataidis' side refused to lie down and mounted a superb comeback. Socratis Papastathopoulos equalised in the 60th minute and Michail Spiridon snatched a winner six minutes before the final whistle.
Must-win match
Greece are now tied in second place with Portugal on three points with one game remaining. They face Wales on Friday needing a win to keep their chances alive of finishing top and snatching the sole finals place up for grabs in this group. However Israel, with no points from two games, are now out of contention.