Mitroglou gets Greece off to flyer

A Kostas Mitroglou goal early in the second half gave Greece the perfect start to the UEFA European Under-19 Championship with a Group A victory against Portugal in the opening match of the tournament.

Tight encounter
The forward, whose transfer from VfL Borussia Mönchengladbach to Olympiacos CFP was completed today, struck the only goal of an even contest in Linz seven minutes into the second half to give his side three invaluable points, although Greece will be wary of celebrating this win too heartily having opened their previous finals campaign, in 2005, with an identical result only to lose their next two fixtures 3-0. Portugal, who had not lost for 12 competitive U19 fixtures, had only late headed opportunities for Orlando Sà and José Zamora to show for their efforts and must hope to bounce back swiftly against holders Spain on Wednesday, when Greece take on hosts Austria.

Ace Ventura
Linz built its reputation on industry and the teams duly produced first-half displays full of effort and commitment although clear chances proved somewhat harder to come by. Two well-drilled defences enjoyed the best of the opening 45 minutes with Greece restricted to a succession of long-range strikes, Giannis Papadopoulos firing one such effort straight at Hugo Ventura. The Portugal goalkeeper was also called upon to deal with an acrobatic attempt from Sotiris Ninis while his defence came to his rescue as Papadopoulos attempted to capitalise on a clever turn from Mitroglou, crowding out the Iraklis FC midfielder.

Set-piece danger
Ninis and Mitroglou looked the most likely to threaten for Greece, who also caused problems for Ventura from several set-pieces with the Portugal goalkeeper frequently electing to attempt to punch clear when under pressure. At the other end João Martins' early corner was allowed to bounce all the way across the Greece penalty area, although Nikolaos Nioplias's side showed more composure shortly before half-time as Michail Boukouvalas brought the ball clear with André Castro attempting to connect with a low Daniel Candeias cross.

Mitroglou breakthrough
The second period began in similarly low-key fashion and it was a considerable surprise when Greece made the breakthrough in the 52nd minute, Mitroglou being given time and space on the edge of the area to send a low shot into the corner of Ventura's net and spark wild celebrations on the Greece bench. Having fallen behind Portugal were compelled to commit more players forward and Sà and substitute Zamora might both have levelled in the final 20 minutes, but on each occasion Apostolos Androustos produced a fine save to ensure his side's victory.