Czechs frustrated by ten-man Greece

The Czech Republic had to settle for a point from a Group B game they largely dominated against a Greece side reduced to ten men by the second-half dismissal of Sotiris Ninis.

No way through
Despite their territorial supremacy and the support of a large crowd enjoying Liberec's first taste of UEFA European Under-19 Championship action, the Czechs were unable to conjure the moment of magic that would have broken Greece's brave resistance.

All change
Coaches Jakub Dovalil and Alexis Alexiou both made changes. Centre-back Vassilis Lampropoulos and midfielder Nikolaos Boutzikos came in for Greece following their draw with Italy. Petr Wojnar was a novelty in the Czech Republic midfield, Lukáš Mareček continued where he had left off as a substitute against England, while Miroslav Štěpánek and Jan Lecjaks replaced the two suspended defenders. The hosts' defence was, however, still half-asleep when first Michail Pavlis, then Ninis failed to take advantage of a loose ball in the Czech area.

Czech pressure
Wojnar's clever pass reached the grateful arms of Greece goalkeeper Nikos Babaniotis just before the stretching boot of Jan Vošahlík. Then a Kyriakos Papadopoulos slip nearly let in the Czechs' match-winner against England, Tomáš Necid. Wojnar was being asked to provide a similar right-sided threat to that of Martin Zeman down the left. Babaniotis had to tip over a looping Wojnar header, then stretched to divert from danger Radim Řezník's cross-shot. Lefteris Matsoukas responded for Greece with a darting run rudely interrupted on the edge of the Czech box. Savas Gentzoglou's header also required the reflexes of Tomáš Vaclík. All the while, though, the Czech stranglehold was tightening and on the stroke of half-time, Babaniotis had to get down low to touch behind Jan Lecjaks' strike.

Sending-off
That Greece were not on top of their game was indicated by Kyriakos Papadopoulos miscontrolling the ball and allowing a chance to Vošahlík. The same player missed a more glaring opportunity when he broke the offside trap, only to flick his shot straight at Babaniotis. Ioannis Papadopoulos's long-range attempt which Vaclík fumbled represented a rare foray forward by the Greeks. Indeed, the expectation among the 6,623 spectators at FC Slovan Liberec's U Nisy Stadion was of a Czech breakthrough. Home hopes were boosted by the sending-off of Greece starlet Ninis soon after the hour – his booking for a foul being followed directly by a second caution for dissent. However, the nearest thing to a goal was Řezník's stoppage-time thunderbolt which Babaniotis deflected against the underside of the crossbar.