Kosovo v Greece UNL G2

[Amorgos]

After our wasted 0-0 away draw with Slovenia we travel to play Kosovo for the first time ever.

They drew with Moldova in match day 1 so they will be looking for a win.

Formation wise I don't expect anything new from JVS but I would like to see Fortounis out there from kick off. Otherwise, we need to look at converting our good attacking raids

[Don Giovanni]

Kosovo are without their injured star player, new Lazio player Muriqi. These guys drew to Moldova. Our guys should win this.

It turns out Tsimikas had coronavirus. They tested the others on Saturday. I haven't seen any reports showing anyone else was infected too.

Amorgos

You may get your wish. It seems both Fortounis and Koulouris will be given starts. Stafylidis too appears to be starting over Siovas.

Η ενδεκάδα που όπως όλα δείχνουν θα παραταχθεί κόντρα στο Κόσοβο είναι η εξής: Μπάρκας, Μπακάκης, Σβάρνας, Σταφυλίδης, Γιαννούλης, Ζέκα, Κουρμπέλης, Φορτούνης, Μπακασέτας, Λημνιός, Κουλούρης.

I must say, I'm surprised Svarnas is playing again. He very nearly cost Greece the game with a defensive lapse towards the end of the game with Slovenia. He wasn't tested by much else and it was Siovas who often made the interventions when questions were asked of the defense.

If we go with the same system as before, it would be better to play Kourbelis at the back and to play Mantalos in the middle as an octari. Let Zeca drop into the right center-back position when we have the ball (like Kourbelis did in the last game) and let Fortounis drop into midfield at times to dictate.

[Reaper]

Fortounis, Tzolis, Bouxa and Masouras should all start imo. These players got far in the el and should be starters over garbage like Bakasetas & Kourbelis.

[aek66]

i'll probably watch the 1st half...expect a comprehensive victory.

[Amorgos]

Svarnas Stafylidis CB pairing... that worries me.

Zeca & Kourbelis in front of the CBs, they will need to do better today.

Hope the attack is better today

[Amorgos]

GOOOAAALLLL! 1-0 with Limnios after 2 mins, nice assist by Koulouris I think it was

[Don Giovanni]

Limnios scored off his own rebound. Good play by Koulouris to find Limnios.

[Don Giovanni]

The central midfield is getting the ball stuck in their feet. Zeca almost lost it. Fortounis getting out muscled time and again.

Svarnas, Bakakis, and Stafylidis don't look capable of a clean sheet. We need at least one more goal to make it safe.

[Amorgos]

Totally agree

[Amorgos]

Stafylidis injuries himself and Siovas subs on in the 39th min

[Amorgos]

1-0 HT

Nothing great, the early goal yes but we have been metrio since.

Kosovo attack much more testing than Slovenia. I think Stafylidis been injured adds a stronger defender in Siovas for us. Svarnas has been beaten in the air a couple of times and it can cost us in the second.

Bakasetas nowhere to be seen.

Need to pick it up in the second half

[Amorgos]

GGOOOOAAAALLLLL!!! Siovas with a very well taken goal in the 51st min

We needed that

[Reaper]

Bakakis is so naturally shit...

[LoneHorseman]

^^^^


Good win, Limnios, not my favorite, man of the match. Poor performance by Fortounis and Bakesetas. From an entertainment stand point... MEH

[Don Giovanni]

The pitch was very wet. Giannoulis slipped and hurt his groin. Then Stafylidis slipped and dislocated his shoulder. Barkas too had trouble holding the ball because the ball would get so wet.

Nuhiu gave us a lot of problems. His size (6'6"?) was too much for our defenders, but he's not a good footballer. He's an oaf. Our guys were too nice to him (or perhaps too intimidated). The way he kept bashing into Barkas was not right. A more experienced player might have gone to the referee demanding more protection, or maybe have had a go at the oaf. Step on his foot, elbow him. Our players should have been smacking him around when he tried that crap. The coach, van't Schip, should have laid into the referee too. In any case, their antics with that oaf of a forward worked and it led to their goal.

Barkas today had a couple of good saves, but he was rattled when defending in the air after the ball slipped on him. On the goal, he should have done better at clearing the ball, but perhaps he was trying to protect himself from injuring, which I can't blame him.

Siovas should have started. Everyone was really happy for Siovas when he scored. It's very clear the other players look up to him. He was a bit lucky with the control, but unlike in the game against Slovenia when the chance perhaps caught him surprise, this time he did well to finish. Stafylidis was a mistake waiting to happen. He did slip in front of his box under little pressure. Luckily, Barkas saved his hide and the game stayed 0-1. That isn't to say Stafylidis played badly, but he's not a proper center-back. A midfielder maybe, but a defender he's not.

Svarnas and Bakakis were really tested today and you can see teams know that our right side now is our weak point, not the left side anymore. I think we were lucky Kosovo weren't full strength and didn't do more to pick these two apart. I thought Bakakis did better today, but both players lack class. In Svarnas' case, he lacks experience too. Bakakis I don't think made any crosses into the box and again offered little to no support to Limnios. I think the staff called for him to play higher up, but he was reluctant due to the defensive pressure he was under.

In saying that, Bakakis actually did well defensively. He got beat I think only a couple of times, once in the air and another time on a cross. His pace and determination was excellent, but anyone who begins to compare him to Giannoulis on the other wing will understand why he's not ideal and why we need better.

I thought Koulouris did well, but he's not a great talent. He tried a shot from distance which came nowhere near the goal. He doesn't have the pace to go at opponents, but he's smart.

Limnios, on the other hand, is a great talent. Superb goal, great pressing, wonderful dribbles. He's looking like Greece's best footballer.

Fortounis looked weak and fatigued. He tried his hand at one slide tackle, it was comical to say the least. I'm not sure what van't Schip saw on the training ground, but it was clear he was not in any shape to play and that Fortounis has to improve weaker areas of his game.

Kourbelis I thought was the worst player today. He was guilty of too many giveaways. He headed the ball when he should have had a kick at goal. He cut out the passing lanes and made a couple of timely challenges, but beyond that he was very poor. I'm now convinced he can't play as a midfielder. To do it in the Greek superleague, he can get away with it, but at the international level he's not good enough for this kind of role.