Greece were certainly hot favourites, but there were question marks over their Konami Cup credentials, and they had lost to lesser sides than Romania in past Cups. The Italians were certainly cheering for Greece, as a Romanian victory would eliminate them, while a Greek victory would eliminate Romania. Greece got off to an excellent start when Fabio Fatasskiss scored from a trademark low, powerful drive in the 5th minute. Just 5 minutes later and Greece were cruising, as the under pressure Romanian’s failed to clear their lines effectively, and Arsenal drilled home the loose-ball in unfussy style. Romania’s Cup was in tatters, and the game seemed to die down as Greece happily sat on their lead while Romania tried to come to terms with what had happened for the rest of the half. Matters became worse for them 4 minutes into the second half when Fatasskiss capitalised on more lasy defending, winning the ball on the edge of the area and finishing comfortably. Now it was desperation time for Romania, who finally seemed to wake up and threw everything they could at the Greek defence. However, the often-shaky Greek back 4 had come to play, and the Romanian’s became demoralised as they realised the game had slipped away from them. A convincing Greek performance was rounded off in the 82nd minute, when an Elias Poursanidis corner was headed home emphatically by Greece’s star of the tournament Arsenal. The 4-0 loss meant Romania and Belgium were the teams eliminated, and now only six teams remained, with France and Greece guaranteed a place in the final four. Greece 4 Romania 0 |
Greece Vs. Romania PREVIEW |