By Jonross Swaby

Greece were on the whole unimpressive in their opening game against South Korea, but will be thanking Zeus they didn’t suffer a heavier defeat.

South Korea lined up with a 4-2-3-1 formation, making it their priority not to concede in their opening match of the tournament.

Greece went into the game having yet to score in a World Cup match, and seeing as they started with three up front, it looked like the Euro 2004 winners were aiming to make history.

Just two minutes in, Greece should have opened the scoring. Left wing back Torosidis popped a shot over that he really should have put away – not least because South Korea full back Lee Jung-Soo managed to tap a goal in from the free kick, giving his side the lead just four mintes later.

The early lead seemed to set the South Koreans on fire, while having a less fortunate effect on the Greeks, whose chaotic defence was only just managing to hang on against the Koreans who went at them like rabid dogs. Greece, as such, failed to hold on to the ball for much of the match, struggling to deal with the South Koreans pushing higher and higher up the pitch.

South Korea should have got their second after 27 minutes, when a through ball toPark Chu Young left the striker with only the keeper to beat – however Alexandros Tzorvas did well to get a foot on it and keep his side hanging on.

South Korea almost gifted their opponents the equaliser just before the break, when goalkeeper Jung Sung-Ryong made a hash of a a high cross, almost dropping the ball at the feet of Greek striker Gekas.

Park Ji-Sung celebrates his goal against Greece

Not long into the second half, South Korea got another goal when centre-back Vyntras’s mistake let captain Park Ji-Sung through. The Manchester United winger held off two defenders and slid the ball in to the back of the net nicely.

They should have made it a third just minutes later, however, as Park Chu-Young headed the ball over from point blank range.

Greece finally decided they had to step up their game, and put the pressure on their opponents for a short time. They even protested for a penalty, claiming that Lee Young-Pyo handled the ball in his own box – the replay shows it hit his chest, and the linesman flag was already up, anyway.

Still trailing and being out-performed in the final minutes, Greece switched to a 4-4-2 to try and build their attack through the wings. They even throw a few extra men forward, but it’s not enough to snatch their first ever World Cup goal as a consolation.

Final score:
South Korea 2 – 0 Greece

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Tags: Gekas, Greece, Group B, Lee Young Pyo, Match report, Park Chu Young, Park Ji Sung, South Korea, Torosidis, Tzorvas, Vyntras, World Cup

This entry was posted on Sunday, June 13th, 2010 at 6:40 pm and is filed under Match reports, World Cup. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.