Poland kept themselves very much in the chase for a spot in the Euro 2012 quarter-finals last night after drawing 1-1 with Russia.
The co-hosts had struggled under the pressure during their opener against Greece, but appeared far more comfortable against the powerful Russians and came from 1-0 down to claim a point; Poland even had chances to win the contest.
Russia opened the scoring through Alan Dzagoev, who is now amongst the favourites to pick up Euro 2012’s Golden Boot, in the 37th minute.
Poland though hit back after the break when Jakub Błaszczykowski scored in the 57th minute. The Borussia Dortmund man was so impressive he picked up the Man of the Match Award.
For Poland boss Franciszek Smuda, the performance was one to appreciate.
"We have played a lot of good matches. In 2011 we came together to build a new team and when you do that you do not always play perfectly", Smuda said post-match.
"It is getting better and better. Today’s match proved that we are good enough to win against the Czech Republic. Our team can see that we have a chance of reaching the knockout stage and we will do everything to take it."
The other game in Group A saw the Czech Republic beat Greece 2-1, setting up a titanic battle when Poland play the Czechs.
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