Krzynówek saves Poland's blushes

Poland came from behind to earn a 1-1 draw with Denmark at the Slaski Stadium in Chorzow in their final friendly before the start of UEFA EURO 2008™.

Krzynówek strike
Winning just his second cap, Martin Vingaard put Denmark ahead on 28 minutes when he tapped in a rebound from close range after Artur Boruc had saved Nicklas Bendtner's shot, but Leo Beenhakker's side were able to rally shortly before half-time. Despite Maciej Żurawski having a penalty turned away by Denmark goalkeeper Thomas Sørensen on 36 minutes, Jacek Krzynówek spared Poland embarrassment by lobbing in the equalising goal three minutes before the interval after Ebi Smolarek's shot had been deflected into his path.

Danish record
For Krzynówek, it was a rare right-footed goal, but the 40,000 fans present to give the hosts a good send-off were simply relieved to see it go in. They were also pleased to witness Poland's four-match losing streak to the Danes come to an end. The most notable of those defeats was surely the 5-1 mauling in Poznan in 2004, although Beenhakker's first match in charge of Poland ended in a 2-0 loss to the same opponents in August 2006.

Uninspired performance
The Dutchman's team are now undefeated in three friendly matches, but there was no escaping the fact this was another uninspired performance following last week's 1-1 draw with F.Y.R. Macedonia and narrow 1-0 win over Albania. Poland kick off their Group B campaign against Germany in Klagenfurt next Sunday.

Poland: Boruc, Wasilewski, Jop, Bąk, Wawrzyniak (Golański 46), Zahorski (Lobodzinski 46), Dudka, Lewandowski, Krzynówek (Garguła 78), Smolarek (Saganowski 77), Żurawski (Guerreiro 46).

Denmark: Sørensen, Jacobsen, Christensen, Krøldrup, Jørgensen (Rasmusen 46), Rommedahl, Retov (Kristensen 64), Poulsen (Augustinussen 78), Nordstrand (Perez 46), Vingaard (Kvist 68), Bendtner (Sørensen 90).