Greece scored their first goals and secured their first victory in a World Cup finals, coming from behind to beat Nigeria 2-1 in their Group B match in Bloemfontein. Kalu Uche opened the scoring for Nigeria but they were reduced to 10 men 11 minutes before the break when Sani Kaita was sent off. Greece took advantage to draw level a minute before half-time through Dimitris Salpigidis. Vasilis Torosidis, the man fouled by Kaita leading to his dismissal, was then on hand to poke the ball home from close range after Vincent Enyeama failed to hold a swerving shot from Georgios Karagounis in the 71st minute. Nigeria took the lead after 16 minutes following a defensive howler by their opponents. Greece failed to cut out an inswinging free-kick from Uche and, as a series of players missed the ball, it nestled in the net. While Uche celebrated, Alexandros Tzorvas in the Greece goal was left shaking his head in disbelief. It was an early setback for Greece following their opening-day defeat by South Korea. They responded 13 minutes later when Karagounis, their captain, tried to chip Enyeama from distance but the goalkeeper was able to make a comfortable save. Then Karagounis floated in a corner only for the Liverpool defender Sotirios Kyrgiakos to send his header high over the bar. The match took a dramatic twist in the 34th minute when Nigeria were reduced to 10 men. Kaita was handed a straight red card by the referee, Oscar Ruiz, following a tussle with Torosidis. Kaita caught the defender with his studs after needlessly raising his foot. Otto Rehhagel, the Greece coach, reacted by bringing on the striker Georgios Samaras in place of the defender Sokratis Papastathopoulos two minutes later. Enyeama soon made a superb block from a shot by Salpigidis and Samaras had an effort cleared off the line by Rabiu Afolabi but a minute before the break Salpigidis scored the equaliser, his effort deflecting off a defender after Kostas Katsouranis had played the ball into his path. Nigeria made a confident start to the second half and Uche saw his clever cross palmed on to the roof of the net by Tzorvas in the 48th minute. Greece hit back and Kyrgiakos sent a header at the back post into the arms of Enyeama seven minutes later following a corner from Karagounis. They kept pushing forward and Theofanis Gekas’s close-range effort was parried by the goalkeeper just before the hour. Nigeria then launched a swift counterattack and Yakubu Ayegbeni’s shot was blocked by Tzorvas. The ball broke to the substitute Chinedu Obasi but he somehow managed to find the wrong side of the post when it seemed easier to score. Nigeria were again grateful to Enyeama in the 68th minute when he clawed away a powerful header from Samaras. Then came the mistake by the goalkeeper, although he did do well to beat away Tziolis’s effort in stoppage time to prevent Greece extending their lead. World Cup 2010 Group B Greece Nigeria World Cup 2010 guardian.co.uk
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Greece 2-1 Nigeria | World Cup 2010 Group B match report
