Euro 2008 - Day 9: Amazing Comeback Gets Turkey Through to Quarterfinals
June 16th 2008 04:26
Back when I was previewing the different teams participating in the tournament, I pointed out that the Czech Republic relied heavily on their defense. On the night where they needed him the most, Petr Cech crumbled and so did the whole team.
I actually missed the first half of the game since my TV only showed the match between Portugal and Turkey. Watching the highlights, it was nice to see Jan Koller finally contribute to his team as he scored the first goal of the game in a half that his team completely dominated. I started to watch at the second half (after looking for it all over the Internet) and the game seemed more balance with end-to-end action. There was a lot more confidence on the Czechs' faces however, and their second goal at the 62nd minute was an even greater boost. They probably thought that with the defense they had, there was no way for Turkey to come back.
At the 75th minute, Arda Turan, the hero of the previous game against Switzerland, started the comeback as he rifled a shot past Petr Cech. 2-1. Trusting his team's defensive abilities, Karel Bruckner took out Jaroslav Plasil (who scored his team's second goal) to replace him by defender Michal Kadlec. With ten minutes left to play, the Turks besieged the Czechs' half who were playing with five men at the back. However, at the 87th minute, the most reliable member of the Czech defense – Petr Cech – made a rare mistake as he fumbled with the ball after a cross. Turkey's captain Nihat Kahveci was waiting right beside Cech and only had to tap the ball in to level the score at 2-2. I was already anticipating penalties, when two minutes later, Kahveci struck again with a nicely curled shot that went top-corner. 3-2 Turkey. Freakin' unbelievable!
From then on, the Czech Republic had no choice, they had to attack, but how could they with no clear transition between defense and offense, and almost no time left. The suspense only heightened at the second minute of extra-time when referee Peter Frojdfeldt – who didn't seem to be in a good mood all match long – showed the red card to Turkish goalkeeper Volkan Demirel. With all their substitutes used up, midfielder Tuncay Sanli took Volkan's place for the remaining minutes. Luckily for Turkey, there was no time left for the Czechs to build an attack. After an amazing game, Turkey won 3-2, sending the Czech Republic home, and showing that defensive play doesn't have its place in this year's tournament.
My man of the match: Nihat Kahveci. The captain led his troops to victory with two goals – the equalizer and the game-winner.
I actually missed the first half of the game since my TV only showed the match between Portugal and Turkey. Watching the highlights, it was nice to see Jan Koller finally contribute to his team as he scored the first goal of the game in a half that his team completely dominated. I started to watch at the second half (after looking for it all over the Internet) and the game seemed more balance with end-to-end action. There was a lot more confidence on the Czechs' faces however, and their second goal at the 62nd minute was an even greater boost. They probably thought that with the defense they had, there was no way for Turkey to come back.
At the 75th minute, Arda Turan, the hero of the previous game against Switzerland, started the comeback as he rifled a shot past Petr Cech. 2-1. Trusting his team's defensive abilities, Karel Bruckner took out Jaroslav Plasil (who scored his team's second goal) to replace him by defender Michal Kadlec. With ten minutes left to play, the Turks besieged the Czechs' half who were playing with five men at the back. However, at the 87th minute, the most reliable member of the Czech defense – Petr Cech – made a rare mistake as he fumbled with the ball after a cross. Turkey's captain Nihat Kahveci was waiting right beside Cech and only had to tap the ball in to level the score at 2-2. I was already anticipating penalties, when two minutes later, Kahveci struck again with a nicely curled shot that went top-corner. 3-2 Turkey. Freakin' unbelievable!
From then on, the Czech Republic had no choice, they had to attack, but how could they with no clear transition between defense and offense, and almost no time left. The suspense only heightened at the second minute of extra-time when referee Peter Frojdfeldt – who didn't seem to be in a good mood all match long – showed the red card to Turkish goalkeeper Volkan Demirel. With all their substitutes used up, midfielder Tuncay Sanli took Volkan's place for the remaining minutes. Luckily for Turkey, there was no time left for the Czechs to build an attack. After an amazing game, Turkey won 3-2, sending the Czech Republic home, and showing that defensive play doesn't have its place in this year's tournament.
My man of the match: Nihat Kahveci. The captain led his troops to victory with two goals – the equalizer and the game-winner.
| 56 |
| Vote |
Add To: 
subscribe to this blog
