Greece beat Serbia 2-1 in Belgrade and started their participation in Group A2 of the League of Nations with an important success. The hosts took the lead, but allowed a turnaround after an equalizer from Christos Tsolis and a goal from Tassos Douvikas in added time.
Serbia opened the scoring in the first half after a combination started by Dusan Tadic and finished by Andrija Zivkovic. According to the Football Federation of Serbia, the captain played his teammates with precise passes, and the hosts had the opportunity to double their lead.
Greece equalizes after pressure
The guests gradually took control of the ball and created several chances. In the 74th minute, Tsolis got a shot and sent the ball into the net for 1:1. At the end of the match, Serbia could have taken the lead again, but a shot by Dejan Jovelic hit the post, and Greek goalkeeper Konstantinos Tsolakis also saved a header by Sasha Lukic.
The decisive moment came in added time. Kostas Tsimikas crossed to the far post, and substitute Tassos Douvikas intercepted the ball, giving Greece a 2:1 victory. The success put the Greek team at the top of the group after the first round, in which the Netherlands and Germany finished 1-1.
Jovanovic: We deserved the victory
“We deserved the victory. We played a good game against an extremely strong team“, said Greece coach Ivan Jovanovic after the match. He stressed that his team created chances and kept the game under control, although in the final minutes they lost some of their composure.
Jovanovic, who was born in Serbia, also said that he sang the Serbian anthem “Boje pravde“ before the start of the match. At the “Raiko Mitic“ stadium About 4,000 spectators were present, and according to the coach, the low attendance was related to Serbia missing the World Cup and bad weather conditions.
Paunovic admits mistake in second goal
Serbia coach Veljko Paunovic described the loss as painful and admitted that the team was not well organized in the decisive attack by Greece.
“In the situation of the second goal, we were not well organized behind the ball. Maybe I was pushing the team too much,“ said Paunovic.He added that Serbia created good chances, but lacked more patience in the final third. On September 27, the Serbs will host the Netherlands in Belgrade, while Greece will visit Germany.
Sources: Radio Television Serbia, Novasports