Irlandos

A penalty in the 4th minute - that would not have been given by a Greek referee - started our U-19 side off to a 3-0 loss to Serbia - Crna Gora. The second goal came as a result of another set piece - a corner kick - while the 3rd came late in the first half after a lapse by the Greek defence. Our lads tried to react after the 0-2 score but ran into a well-organised Serbian defence. They had better chances in the second half but missed the target twice from close range and were denied by the Serb keeper on another occasion. By that time, the Serbs were in training mode passing the ball around and only on occasion going forward. They missed a great chance when GK Dimitris Sotiriou came out and denied a Serb forward on a one-on-one breakaway. Overall I have to say that we have lads that are talented but showed no organisation even in the N. Ireland game. They came here ill-prepared in contrast to the Serbs (and others) who passed the ball around without even having to look to spot where their teammates were. Let's hope EPO can learn their lesson and start preparations for tournaments like these well before they are scheduled to start.

Btw, Group B is now wide open after today's results: France - Norway 3-1 England - Armenia 1-1 Group Table France 1-1-0 4 points Norway 1-0-1 3 points England 0-2-0 2 points Armenia 0-1-1 1 point Saturday's games: France - Armenia England - Norway

What this means is that Greece must defeat Serbia-Crna Gora on Saturday and hope that Northern Ireland manage at least a draw v. Germany. A 3-0 victory v. Serbia-CG will also do the trick.

Greece are down 0-1 late in the first half.

Today, Greece play their second match of the tournament v. Germany in Mournview Park, Lurgan (17:00 BST). In the other group match, N.Ireland tackle Serbia-Crna Gora in the Showgrounds of Newry. Should Greece and Serbia-CG both win, both will go through to the semis. PS. I will be missing the Greece game today but will be "reporting" this Saturday from the Oval (Greece-Serbia).

I was indeed at the match. The Greek team was better in the first half and were lucky to go ahead when Willis fumbled a long shot which was then missed by a NI defender before it was tucked away by Petropoulos. NI hit the crossbar in one of their few organised attacks of the first half. The second half was not as good: the Greek side allowed too much room and possession to NI who tried to attack using mostly the flanks, yet it was Nioplias' side that had the best chance to score when a shot by one of our forwards - with the GK out of position - was cleared on the line by a NI defender. The referee did not give us a freekick when GK Kasmeridis was charged by a NI attacker and that led to a shot which fortunately was cleared at the very last moment by a Greek defender. Towards the end, NI asked for a penalty on a hand ball by a Greek defender but the referee gave a corner kick instead.

Greece play their first game of the tourney against N. Ireland. The weather here has been unusually warm (mid to upper-20's) the past 2-3 weeks. The squad our Under-19's will be facing: Goalkeepers 1. Jonathan Tuffey Coventry City 12. Paul Willis Liverpool Defenders 2. Chris Turner Derby County 3. Jonathan Evans Manchester United 4. Kyle McVey Coleraine 5. Rory McArdle Sheffield Wednesday 6. Aaron Callaghan Limavady United 7. Dermot McCaffrey Hibernian 8. Andrew Cleary Lisburn Distillery Midfielders 9. Jamie Ward Aston Villa 11. Kieran McKenna Spurs 13. Michael O’Connor Crewe Alexandra 14. Aidan Watson Ballymena United 15. David Buchanan Bury 16. Jonny Steele Kansas City Comets Forwards 10. Matthew Doherty Hearts 17. Michael Carvill Charlton Athletic 18. Thomas Stewart Wolves Kieran McKenna will be the man to watch ;)

Well, considering that the population of "Alba" is 5 times that of "Norn Iron", I suspect we can expect an average of 2,000 per game :P Other than Windsor Park and the Oval, no other stadium here fits 10,000 persons. Incidentally, when NI played Greece U-21's at the Oval a couple of years back, only one stand was used.

Certainly the ones in Belfast (N. Ireland, Serbia). :) I may take a miss on the Germany match in Lurgan.

Our U-19 team's matches: 18-07-2005, 19:30 BST at Windsor Park, Belfast Greece - N. Ireland 20-07-2005, 17:00 BST at Mournview Park, Lurgan Greece - Germany 23-07-2005, 17:00 BST at The Oval, Belfast Greece - Serbia and Montenegro Tickets are

Any chance we old-timers can find out what became of stars like Loukanidis, Domazos (last saw him at the Olympics), Linoxylakis (last saw him on TV in 1980 in the capacity of an Athens City Councillor), Kamaras (now a lawyer), etc.?

Who'd ever think the day would come when Nioplias would have hair and Kollitsidakis wouldn't? :P PS. Nice thread! :)

A little bit of trivia: when SKODA took over the team they changed the colours from red-and-white stripes to green.

Speaking of the late John Belushi, was he Greek? I have read rival claims one saying he was Greek, the other saying he was Albanian. Anyway, if the Bosox can win the WS, the Cubbies can't be too far behind! :P

I guess next year will be the Chicago Cubs' turn! :rolleyes: Perhaps this year we'll see Ralph Nader elected President...Who knows? :blink:

The Red Sox have taken a commanding 3-0 lead in the World Series! Could this be the year so many of their supporters dreamed of? Frpm the BBC

Did that same Greek also curse the Bosox? :P Btw, did you know the Cubs had a Greek pitcher - Milt Pappas - in their glory years - late 1960's - early 1970's - when they did everything but win a pennant?

Well done to Manolas' boys! :tup: Goals scored by Mantzios and Tziolis. The Turkish team pulled one back in the 90th minute with Akin.

That takes me back... It was Summer, in Argolis, when I read that Roubanis' record of 4.50m was broken by 10cm by an athlete named Christos Papanikolaou... Hard to believe that was almost 40 years ago! :blink:

Vanitas vanitatum omnia vanitas...

The man is a forward who refuses to enter the penalty area! Olympiakos' midfielders get past him to score! He is an embarassment to Greek football! He has somehow missed the last 60 years of football's development! If ever there has been a useless thread, this has got to be it!!!