Czech Republic's Petr Jiracek celebrates his opening goal (Getty Images)
The players of the Czech Republic were looking for a good dose of redemption coming into the second day of Group A play. Sitting on zero points after a day 1 drubbing by Russia, they faced being the first team to be eliminated if they lost. However, they came out of the gates on fire to make sure that didn't happen. The Greeks, on the other hand, turned in another nightmare first half effort from which they could not recover this time.
The Czechs opened the scoring in just the third minute when Petr Jiracek took a through ball and slashed open the Greek defense. He snuck into the six yard box and slapped the ball past a helpless Greek 'keeper to make it 0-1.Then just three minutes later they capitalized on more lackluster Greek defense to double the lead. Theodor Gabre Selasssie got behind the Greek back line and fired a centering pass to Vaclav Pilar, who poked home another goal to make it 0-2 to the Czechs after just six minutes.
In the end it would be all the Czechs would need, but the Greeks did get one back in half number two. In the 53rd minute Petr Cech, who hasn't had a great tournament so far, tried to claim a ball in the box but ran into one of his defenders. He couldn't hang on, and the ball fell to Greece's Theofanis Gekas who blasted the ball into the empty net to make it 1-2. However, they never really threatened again and the Czechs held onto the win 2-1.
Poland's Jakub Blaszczykowski after equalizing against Russia
Meanwhile, the day's second match took place in Warsaw between Poland and Russia. Unfortunately, the match was preceded by a march to the stadium by Russian fans celebrating a national holiday. The Russians had cleared it with the local authorities, but it ended up leading to violence between the Russians and Polish Ultras that resulted in some injuries.
As for the match itself, Russia could punch it's ticket to the knockout stage with a win over the co-hosts, but found that the Polish football team was just as up for the fight as their fans were. Still, the Russians controlled much of the of the first half and got on the board first in the 37th minute. Andrei Arshavin sent a free kick into the box that found Alan Dzagoev unmarked. The hero of the first match for Russia calmly flicked a header into the goal to make it 0-1 Russia.
The Poles were not about to roll over though, and they fought back hard in the second half. The pressure paid off in the 57th minute when Arshavin reverted to Arsenal form and passed the ball right to a Polish defender. In the end, Jakub Blaszczykowski ended up smashing an equalizer into the Russian net to make it 1-1. That score would hold through full time as both teams seemed to come up a little weary toward the end.
The day's results did little to clarify the Group A situation. Greece's lone point against Poland keeps them alive, and the Poles sit one point behind the Czechs, 2 vs 3. Russia still tops the group on four, but they are not through yet. That means both of Saturday's games will figure into the group scenario.
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