Kuba cracker earns Poland point

A magnificent equaliser from Poland skipper Jakub Blaszczykowski rescued a 1-1 draw for the Euro 2012 co-hosts in Tuesday's clash with Russia.

Last Updated: 13/06/12 at 10:14 Post Comment    Bet with SkyBet  Euro 2012. Click here to bet.

Blaszczykowski: Celebrates goal

Blaszczykowski: Celebrates goal

Alan Dzagoev headed in Andrei Arshavin's 37th-minute free-kick to put Russia ahead in the Group A clash at Warsaw's National Stadium.

However, Blaszczykowski's strike from outside the box after an assist from his Borussia Dortmund team-mate Lukas Piszczek in the 57th minute earned Poland another vital point.

Ugly scenes on the streets of Warsaw prior to kick-off threatened to overshadow this keenly-anticipated match, but both teams turned the focus back to football with a thrilling end-to-end tussle.

Blaszczykowski's goal scuppered Russia's hopes of becoming the first team to book their place in the knockout stages.

It was a richly-deserved point for the Poles, who were frustrated in their opening draw with Greece, but set a stunning pace in the first period and repelled the majority of the impressive Russian advances.

Franciszek Smuda's side almost grabbed a seventh-minute lead when a glancing header from Sebastian Boenisch was superbly saved by Russian keeper Vyacheslav Malafeev, who was kept busy throughout the night.

Boenisch rose highest again from the resulting corner but this time could only direct his header into the arms of a relieved Malafeev.

With the Russians struggling to make any kind of impact, Poland continued to press and Robert Lewandowski almost conjured an opener out of nothing when he hooked a volley just over the bar in the 12th minute.

Poland had the ball in the net in the 19th minute when Lewandowski played in Eugen Polanski who drilled a low shot beyond Malafeev but was correctly pulled up for straying offside.

Playing an exciting brand of fluent passing football, the Poles were dominant and Russian defender Sergei Ignashevich had to get in with a fine intervention to deny Lewandowski another chance in the box.

Russia finally started to get to grips with the game as it approached the half-hour mark, with first Arshavin bursting down the right and crossing for Alexander Kerzhakov, who headed high and wide.

And in the 28th minute, the roles were reversed as Kerzhakov turned provider from the right, sending in a low cross which just eluded the stretching Arshavin in front of goal.

Russia's best spell of the match resulted in the opening goal in the 37th minute as Arshavin delivered a superb free-kick from the left flank and Dzagoev flashed home a header past Przemyslaw Tyton.

Poland almost responded immediately, with Blaszczykowski's powerful drive beaten away by Malafeev, but the Russians were beginning to play with the same kind of confident swagger evident in their opening group win.

But Russia ended the half well on top, with Dzagoev and Yuri Zhirkov both having close-range chances and the goalscorer unlucky not to earn a penalty in first-half injury-time after being pushed over in the box.

Poland started the second half in the same manner they approached the first, and came close within two minutes of the restart when Polanski's brilliant through-ball found Lewandowski but he was pushed wide and out of play by the advancing Malafeev.

It was all Poland again with Ludovic Obraniak and Damien Perquis both coming close before the Russians threatened with a swift counter in the 50th minute, Kerzhakov's dangerous run eventually intercepted by Dariusz Dudka.

Blaszczykowski sparked jubilation in the 58th minute when he got on the end of a Polish breakaway down the right and cut inside to sent a superb left-foot drive beyond Malafeev and into the corner of the net.

As the game sprang into life, Dzagoev scuffed a shot straight at Tyton after being flicked through by Kerzhakov, and almost immediately at the other end Blaszczykowski made ground down the left before blazing high and wide.

The result means Russia top Group A with four points, with the Czech Republic second after they beat Greece 2-1 in Wroclaw earlier in the day. Poland are third with two points, and the Greeks are bottom with one point.

The group concludes on Saturday night, when Russia face Greece and Poland take on Czech Republic knowing they must win to have any chance of progressing to the quarter-finals.

Bet with SkyBet  Euro 2012. Click here to bet.

Football365 Facebook Fan Page

The Football365 fan page is a great place to meet like minded people, have football related discussions and make new friends.

Sky Bet

    • Retrieving latest Sky Bet odds

More Match Results

Sunday, 01 July 2012
19:45
Spain 4-0 Italy Report
Thursday, 28 June 2012
Germany 1-2 Italy Report
Wednesday, 27 June 2012
Portugal 0-0 Spain Report
Sunday, 24 June 2012
England 0-0 Italy Report
Saturday, 23 June 2012
Spain 2-0 France Report
Friday, 22 June 2012
Germany 4-2 Greece Report
Thursday, 21 June 2012
Czech Rep 0-1 Portugal  
Tuesday, 19 June 2012
England 1-0 Ukraine Report
Sweden 2-0 France Report
Monday, 18 June 2012
Croatia 0-1 Spain Report

European Championships

Position Team P GD PTS
1 Czech Rep 3 -1 6
2 Greece 3 0 4
3 Russia 3 2 4
4 Poland 3 -1 2

Updated Wed, 20 Jun 2012

Footer 365

Heynckes hails Robben impact

Bayern Munich coach Jupp Heynckes has hailed the impact Arjen Robben has made on his side's run to the Champions League final.

Hummels wants stars to stay

Borussia Dortmund defender Mats Hummels hopes a Champions League final win will stop more of his team-mates from joining Bayern Munich.

Cech and Luiz praise for Rafa

Petr Cech and David Luiz have hailed outgoing boss Rafa Benitez and revealed their excitement about the likely arrival of Jose Mourinho.

Mail Box

Wayne Rooney Is Just An Average Athlete

That's the difference between him and someone like Cristiano Ronaldo - his body just isn't right. We have mails on him, Sparky, Brendan Rodgers and the Europa Lge...

Saving The Europa League And More...

Nice one UEFA, but not far enough. We have some ideas to make the Europa League better as well as more views on Wayne Rooney, Vermaelen in midfield and...

© 2013 British Sky Broadcasting Ltd. All Rights Reserved