Euro 2020 Group J - Bosnia and Herzegovina v. Greece (26 March 2019, Bilino Polje Stadium, Zenica)

[Ellada2004]

3 minutes ago, georgelaz said:

Bosnia destroyed us first 20 minutes I thought we were gunna lose 5-0 with that let up. Weird thing we often are having brain farts and slow to get into the game but then we just started dominating.

with manolas back and a few key others it will be all Greece in Hellas I believe but can't get too cocky either but I'm optimistic what can I say

Vlachodimos should have been better, there goalie made a couple big saves. We were so disorganized at the back in the first 20 minutes making silly mistakes and giving possession away so cheaply. The game started to turn after 35th minute and on and Fortounis should have finished that chance he shot over the bar. Bosnia only had one chance in the 2nd half and they sat back and tried to defend which is there weakness..Anyways Greece could have won but we also could have lost big as well with that awful start to the match. A draw is huge for us...

[georgelaz]

4 minutes ago, tantra129 said:

20 first min are always the hardest in a heated environment such as sarajevo

 

our team is very young and lacks that kind of maturity to be able to keep calm during the storm

 

but we fought back and got a great result, under the circumstances

 

there are things to work on here .... good signs

bad communication from vlacho. he wanted a 3 man wall and only zeca was there. 

he's our best keeper for sure but he still needs to build chem with everyone (zeca and him were teamates at pao so that's why he understood i'd imagine)

[georgelaz]

3 minutes ago, tantra129 said:

keeper calls the wall ... if the younglings don't listen .... how can you blame him?

you think it was done purposely or they just couldn't hear him cause he wasn't loud enough because the stadium was super loud

[Brklyngrk]

Overall, I really liked the team these two games.  Masouras/Siovas/Donis really impressed, something to build on going forward.  Wouldn't be surprised to see a three man back line.   We can finally have speed to counter with Masouras/Donis and hopefully Lambrou.  Vlaho is our keeper for the next 10 years, he will only get better. We took more shots on goal these past two games than we did the entire campaign the last time out.  We looked more energetic and hustled, while our finishing is lacking, it will improve.  

[georgelaz]

3rd toughest match for us and we looked like we should've won (2 italy matches being the hardest imo) so looks like we have a really good shot to get 2nd possibly 1st

[PaoOle]

1 hour ago, La Mendel said:

And Kolovos was great. I must admit I never rated him I thought that he was better than Bakasetas but that was all.

For the very little I have seen him, he has more ball control than bakasetas and can play as a second striker in the box something that mantalos and pelkas cannot do. Also can create his own shot, something that koulourus cannot do.

Give credit to anastasiadis; instead of playing players out of position (3 CM), he plays the best of them, Fotounis, and finds players player to play when needed.

Both masouras and Kolovos are such players; good enough to make positive plays.

[Bananas]

The result is big.  Fair to say we should be happy with a score draw.

As for the goals we conceded, the players committed sins today.  Those goals should NEVER go in at that level.

1) The first goal, why isn't there one man around the "D" ?  Seriously, my junior coaches taught us these basics when I was a kid.  If you allow the opposition to just shoot like that, you deserve to concede.  I've read comments the goal was lucky but I don't agree.  We allowed the corner taker to see the option, he played it, and the BH player had a shot.  After that, anything can happen, and behold it did.  Worse than a school boy error on our part.  If you simply position a man to guard the "D" this goal doesn't happen.

2) The free kick from Pjanic.  Same again.  School boy defending.  Sure, he's not that good.  I mean, he only plays for Juventus and is being courted by Real Madrid.  Here mate, we don't need to setup a wall because you're just a no name player that couldn't score to save your life.  And for the people that said it's Vlachodimos mistake, that is ridiculous.  That shot would not be saved by any keeper in the world.  It was perfect.  But if you setup a wall, it's 95% no goal.

So we concede two goals from defending that is Kastoria FC level.  Unacceptable.

Moving forward hopefully we tighten up because we will definitely not qualify conceding stupid goals like this.

The plus (and this is a BIG plus) is that the team didn't fold and showed heart.  That is all on Ange.  His team selection I don't understand but his motivational skills have always been good.  Overall, considering the first 20 minutes and at half-time we 2-0 down this is a great result.

[georgelaz]

14 minutes ago, Bananas said:

The result is big.  Fair to say we should be happy with a score draw.

As for the goals we conceded, the players committed sins today.  Those goals should NEVER go in at that level.

1) The first goal, why isn't there one man around the "D" ?  Seriously, my junior coaches taught us these basics when I was a kid.  If you allow the opposition to just shoot like that, you deserve to concede.  I've read comments the goal was lucky but I don't agree.  We allowed the corner taker to see the option, he played it, and the BH player had a shot.  After that, anything can happen, and behold it did.  Worse than a school boy error on our part.  If you simply position a man to guard the "D" this goal doesn't happen.

2) The free kick from Pjanic.  Same again.  School boy defending.  Sure, he's not that good.  I mean, he only plays for Juventus and is being courted by Real Madrid.  Here mate, we don't need to setup a wall because you're just a no name player that couldn't score to save your life.  And for the people that said it's Vlachodimos mistake, that is ridiculous.  That shot would not be saved by any keeper in the world.  It was perfect.  But if you setup a wall, it's 95% no goal.

So we concede two goals from defending that is Kastoria FC level.  Unacceptable.

Moving forward hopefully we tighten up because we will definitely not qualify conceding stupid goals like this.

The plus (and this is a BIG plus) is that the team didn't fold and showed heart.  That is all on Ange.  His team selection I don't understand but his motivational skills have always been good.  Overall, considering the first 20 minutes and at half-time we 2-0 down this is a great result.

Ange summoned the spirit of the holy trinity as half time, sigoura.

[Ellada2004]

22 minutes ago, Bananas said:

The result is big.  Fair to say we should be happy with a score draw.

As for the goals we conceded, the players committed sins today.  Those goals should NEVER go in at that level.

1) The first goal, why isn't there one man around the "D" ?  Seriously, my junior coaches taught us these basics when I was a kid.  If you allow the opposition to just shoot like that, you deserve to concede.  I've read comments the goal was lucky but I don't agree.  We allowed the corner taker to see the option, he played it, and the BH player had a shot.  After that, anything can happen, and behold it did.  Worse than a school boy error on our part.  If you simply position a man to guard the "D" this goal doesn't happen.

2) The free kick from Pjanic.  Same again.  School boy defending.  Sure, he's not that good.  I mean, he only plays for Juventus and is being courted by Real Madrid.  Here mate, we don't need to setup a wall because you're just a no name player that couldn't score to save your life.  And for the people that said it's Vlachodimos mistake, that is ridiculous.  That shot would not be saved by any keeper in the world.  It was perfect.  But if you setup a wall, it's 95% no goal.

So we concede two goals from defending that is Kastoria FC level.  Unacceptable.

Moving forward hopefully we tighten up because we will definitely not qualify conceding stupid goals like this.

The plus (and this is a BIG plus) is that the team didn't fold and showed heart.  That is all on Ange.  His team selection I don't understand but his motivational skills have always been good.  Overall, considering the first 20 minutes and at half-time we 2-0 down this is a great result.

Both stupid goals to concede the first we were not ready to defend and then after the initial shot we couldn't clear the ball. The second was very strange I dont know when I last saw something like that play, no wall on a free kick from such a dangerous position?  Like you said you cant let a player like Pjanic have a free look at the goal like that.

Before the game started I said a draw would be very good for Greece away in Bosnia and the way they got it was impressive. Now Greece go home and just have find a way to get wins vs Italy which will be tougher than today and Armenia who we shouldn't take lightly.

 

[J1078]

I’m hoping Bosnia drop points in finland without Pjanic... That being said you can’t count out Finland either.. Guys beside the disastrous nervous start this is the first time I seen this team with speed and create chances and are finding away to get shots on target something we never were able to do.. I think guys like Masouras, Donis Koutris and now a reborn Samaris in the mid can help us be more creative and use there speed.. Hopefully when we play Italy we don’t come out nervous and scared, yes we need to be solid defensively but we can’t be afraid to attack.. Donis is better on the wing he produces very weak headers... 

[Ellada2004]

16 minutes ago, J1078 said:

I’m hoping Bosnia drop points in finland without Pjanic... That being said you can’t count out Finland either.. Guys beside the disastrous nervous start this is the first time I seen this team with speed and create chances and are finding away to get shots on target something we never were able to do.. I think guys like Masouras, Donis Koutris and now a reborn Samaris in the mid can help us be more creative and use there speed.. Hopefully when we play Italy we don’t come out nervous and scared, yes we need to be solid defensively but we can’t be afraid to attack.. Donis is better on the wing he produces very weak headers... 

We have to go into the game vs Italy without any fear off them and will be fine.

Samaris was fantastic today. 

With Manolas back he will calm things down in the back, he was a huge loss today, I was so pissed when he got that injury in the CL game

With a healthy lineup Lord willing we will be fine going forward. I think Finland will be tough test especially away were we have trouble there. Bosnia goes there next without Pjanic I can see them losing that game. Is Pjanic out 2 games for the red card?

[J1078]

31 minutes ago, Ellada2004 said:

We have to go into the game vs Italy without any fear off them and will be fine.

Samaris was fantastic today. 

With Manolas back he will calm things down in the back, he was a huge loss today, I was so pissed when he got that injury in the CL game

With a healthy lineup Lord willing we will be fine going forward. I think Finland will be tough test especially away were we have trouble there. Bosnia goes there next without Pjanic I can see them losing that game. Is Pjanic out 2 games for the red card?

Pretty sure he’s out for both games... 

Edited March 27, 2019 by J1078

[AEK RE GAMOTO]

Biggest surprises for me:

Siovas and Samaris. Was very amazed with their excellent play today.

 

Zeca is all heart. Not even Greek and hustling like his life depended on it!

 

Like others said, we didn't play perfect and my God, those first 20 minutes were like deer in headlights BUT (and this is huge) I loved how the team did not stop running, fighting, chasing balls and the opposition. They hustled like the teams we grew to love before the collapse of the past 3-4 years. This is important and hopefully they carry today's momentum into the next games later this summer.

PAME ELLAS!

[gsots]

It was nice to finally see a coach make the proper adjustments and bring in the right personnel to help turn the game around. We obv had some luck with the red card, but we had already started to turn the tide before that. 2nd half and end of the 1st half, we were a different team. Fortounis was dog s#it in the last 15 mins, gave the ball away at least 8 times, but he busted his a$$ all game and was doing everything he could to make things happen, so I don't blame him. The only thing is he should have brought kolovos and koulouris on sooner to help support fortou and donis so they didn't wear out cause you could see it happening with all the running they were doing early on and into the start of the 2nd half. 

 

Hopefully our coach learned today not to play stupid m@lakia line ups, cause it almost cost us. Put on your best starting 11 and f'n go at it. Non of this bs we've seen in the past against Sweden in '08, Argentina in '10 and Germany in' 12. Unless everyone is out injured and you have no choice, play a proper and your best line up, end of story! 

If this was Skibbe, he would have subbed fortounis and donis off to start the 2nd half! Honestly all I kept thinking today was "don't bring on bakasetas please!" 

[georgelaz]

7 minutes ago, gsots said:

It was nice to finally see a coach make the proper adjustments and bring in the right personnel to help turn the game around. We obv had some luck with the red card, but we had already started to turn the tide before that. 2nd half and end of the 1st half, we were a different team. Fortounis was dog s#it in the last 15 mins, gave the ball away at least 8 times, but he busted his a$$ all game and was doing everything he could to make things happen, so I don't blame him. The only thing is he should have brought kolovos and koulouris on sooner to help support fortou and donis so they didn't wear out cause you could see it happening with all the running they were doing early on and into the start of the 2nd half. 

  

Hopefully our coach learned today not to play stupid m@lakia line ups, cause it almost cost us. Put on your best starting 11 and f'n go at it. Non of this bs we've seen in the past against Sweden in '08, Argentina in '10 and Germany in' 12. Unless everyone is out injured and you have no choice, play a proper and your best line up, end of story! 

If this was Skibbe, he would have subbed fortounis and donis off to start the 2nd half! Honestly all I kept thinking today was "don't bring on bakasetas please!" 

good point. has a strange starting 11 ever been effective?

only one I can think of that got us a draw was vs. turkey 0-0 where samaris and mitroglou were our only attacking players (samaris is not even a pure attacker). we played really bad but succeeded in shutting them down.

[paokarag4]

Huge result, directly after the game I felt we let a chance slip away to take all 3 points and although that may be true everything considered how the game started it's a fantastic result. 

In terms of playing 3-5-2 moving forward I'm not sure on it. Siovas is good enough to be starting but not over Sokratis and Manolas. So the only way to fit all of them is to switch to 5 at the back. The issue with switching formation so drastically is most players don't play this formation at club level (Only a few top teams around the world do and even then the manager picks and chooses when to play it) so it's difficult to expect players to be able to adapt straight away, especially against quality teams. 

Our full backs are an issue, defensively. Koutris as good as he was in attack in the 2nd half he has issues when defending. Bakakis on the other hand should only be playing against Liechtenstein and possibly Armenia. The Bosnian winger (Duljevic) on his side of the pitch plays for a bottom 6 club in Germany's 2nd tier and was running rings around him. We desperately need a right back, until then Toro/Retsos are our best options. 

All in all it was great to see the Ethniki playing some conventional football for a change, as others have mentioned the most impressive thing overall was our heart and fight. Bravo manges, now hopefully all our internationals have good ends to the season and we have no injuries by the time June rolls around and we are fit and firing heading into a big 2 matches

[georgelaz]

probably a bad idea but I wonder if Zeca as a RB would be good. He's a decent crosser,defender and engine. Kourbelis and Samaris when in form are good cm's too. (at least until toro/retsos are back)

I don't think bakakis is that bad though, I think he just had a bad game. He' shares a lot of the qualities that Zeca has.

could be something like this

          mitroglou

donis fortounis  masouras

     kourbelis samaris

koutris sokratis manolas zeca

               odyesseas

[paokarag4]

No go file, keep your best players in their natural positions. Fortounis always as a dekari, Sokratis always at center back and Zeca always in midfield. He is by far the best we have at breaking up attacks and blanketing the oppositions best attacking mid. Last time Zeca was moved out of there Modric and co ran riot. 

[Dean97]

It’s hard to decide now who should play because Kourbelis and Siovas had great games against Lichtenstein and Bosnia. Kourbelis is better suited as a CB. I wonder who plays and what formation. Obviously Manolas will play but we do we leave our Siovas?

Also with Retsos coming back he should play over Bakakis and Torosidis. Bakakis is horrible and he is very weak. Not good enough defensively. I like what I saw from Kourbelis, he should have a starting spot. Zeca ran and fought hard all game. I’ve never seen someone with so much stamina. Masouras and Donis can be our attacking threats. 

This is what I’d do next game. 

Vlaxo

Retsos Manolas Sokratis Koutris 

Kourbelis Zeca 

Fetfatzidis Fortounis Donis 

Durmisaj 

I have a good feeling with Durmisaj. Mitroglou is too slow and can be an impact sub. Same for Mantalos. Kolovos proved himself today and should be considered again. Masouras also another option off the bench. Fetfatzidis has to make his way back to the team. He has been doing well at Aris so far.

In midfield there is no difference if you play Samaris or Kourbelis. They are both decent as I chose Kourbelis because he impressed me more. I wish there was a place for Siovas because he is great. Koutris played very well also.

[ausgreek]

Hellas came back from two big king hits to fight back, thats is to be admired.

                                                   4 2 3 1;

                                             9  Koulouris

  17  Kolovos             10  Fortounis                  11  Donis

                             22  Samaris         8  Zeca

  23 . Koutris                                                   15 Torosidis (c)

                          19  Sokratis         4  Manolas

                                      1  Vlahomidos     

 

24 .Darmishaj . 14  Bouzoukis . 5 .Retsos . 13  Barkas . etc.

Edited March 27, 2019 by ausgreek

[Jimmyp]

When are guys gonna let the Fetfatzidis experiment go. He’s not better than what we have. 

[Dean97]

Why do you think that?

[Ellada2004]

6 hours ago, gsots said:

It was nice to finally see a coach make the proper adjustments and bring in the right personnel to help turn the game around. We obv had some luck with the red card, but we had already started to turn the tide before that. 2nd half and end of the 1st half, we were a different team. Fortounis was dog s#it in the last 15 mins, gave the ball away at least 8 times, but he busted his a$$ all game and was doing everything he could to make things happen, so I don't blame him. The only thing is he should have brought kolovos and koulouris on sooner to help support fortou and donis so they didn't wear out cause you could see it happening with all the running they were doing early on and into the start of the 2nd half. 

 

Hopefully our coach learned today not to play stupid m@lakia line ups, cause it almost cost us. Put on your best starting 11 and f'n go at it. Non of this bs we've seen in the past against Sweden in '08, Argentina in '10 and Germany in' 12. Unless everyone is out injured and you have no choice, play a proper and your best line up, end of story! 

If this was Skibbe, he would have subbed fortounis and donis off to start the 2nd half! Honestly all I kept thinking today was "don't bring on bakasetas please!" 

Fortounis is a game changer.. But he did give the ball away too much needless at times. He also had an opportunity late in the game to cross the ball in the box with three or four guys there and it went straight to the goalie almost looked like he was taking a shot? 

Overall second half was fantastic from the players to the coach.. 

[Brklyngrk]

Speed kill and we are starting to see that.  Imagine if half of those shots we took were closer to the goal.  As they develop chemistry and improve, I can see better results.  Also we do have more guys to call up.  I am liking the new coach and loved his press conference.  A Bosnian reporter asked him that he felt that Greece wasn't even on the pitch until the penalty, what were his thoughts.  He answered, well, that's his opinion, he's entitled, but if he wants, he can go back and look at the video to see what happened.

[J1078]

Look at these stats. 

Possession -Bos 38% - Gre 62%

Shot Attempts -Bos 12  - Gre16

Shots On Goal -Bos 4 - Gre 6

Crosses - Bos 12 - Gre 20

 

When have we ever finished a game with these number against a good team?? 

Yes inunderstand they were a man down but after 25 minutes we started controlling the play and were by far the better team way before Pjanic went off. Also even tho they came out hard fast and attacked us the first goal was unlucky as Zeca cleared it right to there guy lucky bounce and the 2nd goal is something that would not happen if we had a wall it was mental block.. Kolovos goal was much more deserved and prettier then their goals..

Edited March 27, 2019 by J1078